A Delicate Situation
by jypzrose
Summary: DG had a life before the OZ. When the consequences of that life intrude against her new one, DG finds herself in a marriage of convenience with Wyatt Cain. Things only get more complicated as the OZ bursts into Civil War. DG/CAIN **SEE RATING CHANGE**
1. Prologue

**Title-A Delicate Situation**

**Author-Jypz**

**Rating-R to be safe.**

**Characters-DG/Cain, Az, Glitch, Raw, The Queen and Ahamo**

**Summary-**When DG passes out after the eclipse, everybody just chalks it up to the big let down after the final battle. Unfortunately for DG, she finds out soon enough the cause is much more serious. She's pregnant. Upon telling her parents, they insist she gets married. The tenuous hold of the House of Gale on the kingdom is at stake. With the OZ on the brink of a Civil War and the threat against the royal family growing daily, no amount of arguing is going to get her out of this one.

Cain wants nothing more than to save his friend from a loveless marriage with a stranger. He offers to step up to be her husband and the child's father, and much to DG's horror, her parents agree. Now, DG finds herself married, pregnant with another man's child, and struggling to adjust to a life she barely remembers. When friendship starts to turn into something deeper, will Cain open up to let her in, or will he break DG's heart?

* * *

A/N-You know what? I truly, truly suck at summaries. Sigh. So, I have no idea where this plot bunny came from. Just go with it.

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

DG stood on the balcony of her sister's tower, watching as the twin suns broke with the moon. The eclipse was over. Light had returned to the OZ.

"Now that's the OZ I remember," she breathed, feeling lightheaded. So much had happened in the last week. Her life had changed dramatically. Once a simple farm girl with dreams bigger than her town, she was now a princess, her mother a queen. Now that it was over, now that the threat was conquered and her sister was returned to them, she didn't quite know how to feel.

She stood shoulder to shoulder with her family. She could feel the solid presence of her unlikely friends behind her. She didn't know what would come of this new life, but she was excited to find out. Her head spun a bit and she felt a small wave of nausea flow through her stomach.

_Must be the adrenaline let down_, she thought. DG smiled when her father slipped an arm around her shoulders.

"It's over. Now the healing must begin." He said, pulling his other daughter into the curve of his second arm. The Queen smiled, a radiant smile of a mother whose children were safe. DG leaned into Ahamo's hug and reached behind him to press a hand to her sister's back. Az still looked a little shell shocked, but she managed a tight smile for her sister.

"I would like to thank you gentlemen, for helping DG. And Ambrose, it is good to see you again." Glitch's face bloomed into an amazing smile. Cain merely nodded his head, his crystal eyes seeking out hers. He gave her a smile and she could see he was proud of her. Why that pleased her so much was a mystery. Raw, ever shy ducked his head as Cain did, but he tried to stay back out of the way.

"Come, there is much to do. Azkadelia, you will need to call the Longcoats back and have them stand down…" The Queens voice droned on, turning to a buzzing noise in DG's ears. The nausea was getting worse now and she swore she was feeling a little clammy.

"You all right, kid?" She looked up at Cain and narrowed her eyes. The light seemed to be hurting them.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I think I just need to sit down." She went to take a step away from her father and the next thing she knew, the floor was rushing up to greet her.

* * *

When she woke up, the nausea was still there. At least it seemed to be a little better. 

"DG, my darling. Are you all right?" The Queen's soft, concerned voice had her prying her eyes open. She was laying on a couch-chaise?-in the same room, surrounded by her friends and family. They were watching her with anxious curiosity and DG felt like she was a bug under glass.

"I'm fine," she insisted again, moving to sit up. Her mother's gentle but firm hand on her shoulder stopped her. "It's probably just the let down. You know, now that the adventures over and all that." She waved off their concern.

"You sure, DG?" Cain's eyes were narrowed as if he were trying to see a lie in her words. She just shook her head.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"I think we could all use some rest. It's been a rather long day." Ahamo had a cheeky grin to go along with his understatement of the century. "Tomorrow is time enough to start rebuilding the OZ." DG could tell, by the way he looked at his wife, that rest was the last thing on his mind. Hers too, if the blush was any indication.

"Mr. Cain, Raw and Ambrose, please, be our guests tonight. And I hope that you will all return to Central City with us. There is no doubt that we can use men of your caliber at our sides." The Queen offered. DG knew at once that Cain would not be spending the night in the tower.

"Thank you ma'am. I will return to the city with you. But tonight, there's something else I need to do." He tilted his head at the queen, replaced his hat on his blonde head and winked a bright blue eye at DG. She smiled back, knowing he was going to find Jeb.

Ahamo had taken Azkadelia by the elbow and led her from the room, Glitch followed and the Queen helped DG sit up.

"Come my darling. Some food and rest are what's in order."

The rest sounded great. The food did not. Pressing her hand to her stomach, DG darted back out to the balcony and prayed there was no one standing underneath as her stomach finally let go. She felt her mother's soothing hand on her back as she heaved, wondering where all this was coming from. She hadn't really eaten anything that day.

When she was finished, her mother led her from the balcony. Raw was watching her with a curious look on his face. One that DG didn't even want to contemplate. The Queen led her down the hall to a small chamber. How her mother knew it was there wasn't a question she'd needed answered. The bed with its crisp, white sheets called to her. In short order, she was tucked inside, fatigue settling over her with a vengeance now.

It wasn't until several minutes after her mother left that her eyes popped open and a startling, terrifying realization dawned on her.

_Oh shit._


	2. Chapter One

**CHAPTER ONE**

DG sat on a couch in the middle of her sitting room. They had moved to the palace in Central City, just as her mother had planned and had started to try to set the OZ to rights. It would take a long time and there were some that didn't think that the house of Gale should still be in power. Or brought back to power. Or whatever. But with the alternative being chaos, most saw the need for the royal family.

Azkadelia was in therapy. Or what DG considered therapy. She'd suffered much at the hands of the witch and her personality was shattered at best. One moment she was perfectly lucid, happy to be with her family. In those times, she seemed child-like and DG wondered if she wasn't trying to relive the days before the possession. Other times, she would rage. Against her mother, her father, the world. DG didn't want to tell them that she thought Az had actually brought up some valid points during those episodes.

Why _hadn't_ their mother tried harder to get the witch out of Az's body?

And DG even knew, that with Az's mental state, her mother was looking to her take the crown.

None of that, at this moment, was of any concern to DG. She sat in the sitting room, on a couch made of plush, ruby velvet and stared out the window. She could just see Central City above the palace wall in the distance. Her mind was swirling as much as her stomach was. She couldn't settle on one thought, couldn't let herself ponder the consequences for what she thought was going on.

She'd been sick again that morning. And the morning before, and the morning before that. She didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. Especially since she was late. Very, very late. Six weeks give or take a day or so. Unfortunately, there were no Epic Pharmacies right around the corner from her so she could pick up an EPT.

So, she had to settle for the next, best-probably better- thing.

She rose when the soft knock sounded on her door. She knew she looked like hell when she swung it open to the men outside. Her hair was pulled back messily from her face and she knew she was pale. Her eyes were dull with dark circles marring the skin underneath.

"You look like hell, DG." Cain was the first to step inside. She hadn't seen him much over the last month, as his palace duties kept him busy. She still found it funny that he was the captain of the guard. Still wearing his duster and grubby hat. It made her smile.

He shrugged out of that duster and hat and threw them across the back of the couch and turned to look at her. He pinned her with those eyes, his lips pressed in a thin line. She felt like he could see all her secrets right then and she tried hard not to fidget.

"Hey, cupcake. Not sleeping, huh?" Glitch came in second and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. She felt tears well up and she blinked them back quickly. No, she hadn't been sleeping. DG figured it was good practice.

Raw came in last, his eyes sad as they looked at her. He knew why he was there, even if the others just thought it was because she missed them. "It be ok, DG." He said quietly.

No, she didn't think it would ever be ok.

"What's up, kid?" Cain asked as she swung the door closed. She turned to face them, crossing and un-crossing her arms as she tried to put words to her fears. These were her best friends; the men that had helped her fight the witch and discover who she was. She needed their help more than ever now.

"Before I came here, I had a life. I know it's a shocker, but I had a job. A crappy one, but mine. I went to school, most of the time. And I dated." She paused, her voice hitching ever so slightly. The men watched her, Cain the most intently, as he always did. Concern was on all there faces and that damn knowing look was on Raw's. "I had a boyfriend. Had being the operative word. We broke up about a week before I got pulled over here. We had sex, that last night we were together." She said this quickly, her cheeks burning with what she'd just admitted.

"DG, I don't see why we need to know this." Cain started. She almost giggled when she looked at him. She didn't think she'd ever seen Cain blush before.

"You need to know it, because I think I'm pregnant. I think that's why I fainted after the eclipse and why I've been riding the porcelain bus every morning since. And I need you to know, because I need all the help I can get when I have to tell my parents." The tears came now, hot and fast down her cheeks. Her shoulders shook and it was all she could do to stay standing. Glitch came to her and took her into his arms, his hands running down her back to comfort.

"It's ok, DG. We're here." He whispered.

"We aren't going anywhere." Cain agreed. She heard Raw grunt in agreement and she nodded against Glitch's chest. It took her a couple of minutes but she managed to calm enough to pull away from the former advisor.

"Raw. I need to know, for sure." The seer looked like he'd rather be anywhere than telling DG bad news, but he stepped forward. With a kind smile, he laid a hand on her stomach. DG sucked in a breath at the sensation of Raw 'looking' into her belly. It kind of tickled which was surprising after the way she'd seen Glitch react to it.

"Baby there. Strong, like his mother."

"Oh God," she moaned as the last of her hope that she just had a hellatious bug draining out of her. What the hell was she going to do now? She didn't know for sure, but she doubted that unwed princesses were allowed in the palace.

Glitch was holding her up and Raw was still touching her stomach. Her eyes fell on Cain. She saw the sympathy in his eyes; the kindness and it nearly did her in. How the hell was she supposed to have a baby? She didn't even know who she was yet. Or if this was where she really belonged. What the hell was she going to do?

"You need to tell your parents, Princess." Cain's voice was soft, full of the sympathy she'd seen in his eyes. DG nodded and fought to stop the tears that were gathering again.

"I know. Will you go with me?" She knew it was a childish request. But she didn't think she could face them alone. Despite her returning memories, they were still strangers to her.

"Of course we will, doll. Nothing like having the gang all together again, huh?" DG wasn't sure if he was glitching right then, but she smiled.

"Yeah." Cain agreed. He was still watching her, but his face had turned thoughtful. Before she would ask what he was thinking, Raw let out a snort.

"What?"

"Much is on horizon for you, DG. This baby not an unhappy thing." He told her, finally giving her a big smile. She wished that she could agree with him.

* * *

It took her two days to get her nerve up. When she finally did, she'd had to make an appointment to see her parents. She could have told them at dinner. But they both seemed so distracted with what was going on in the OZ and Azkadelia's recovery. She'd told Cain as much when he'd cornered her on the night of the first day.

The second day, he'd actually trailed behind her, taking her usual guard's place. She knew he just did it to drive her crazy. And it was succeeding.

"Fine! I'll go tell them." She'd said after about an hour of feeling his eyes penetrating her back while she tried to read. She'd stormed out of the library and down to the room her parent's used as an office. She was met by a stern looking woman with a pencil shoved in her hair and told that while DG was the Princess, she still needed to have an appointment. Her parents were very busy people, didn't she know that?

So, she'd made an appointment. And Cain made sure she didn't miss it.

"DG, darling. What can we do for you?" The Queen gave her youngest daughter a bright smile. DG felt like she might puke again.

"I have something to tell you." She started, her voice shaking. To their credit, they both just sat there, their smiles fading with each word. She hadn't bothered with telling them the who. They wouldn't know and there was no chance of them knowing him. She saw disappointment in her mother's eyes and it was all she could do not to cry again.

"This is upsetting." Her mother said calmly. DG managed not to pout, but only just.

"I'm sorry." DG said, her voice husky with tears.

"You do realize, that we can't have an unwed, pregnant Princess. Especially the Princess that is expected to rule one day." DG nodded, her eyes turning watery. She'd actually been prepared for this. A little reading and a few questions to Glitch and she knew that without a doubt, she'd be expected to marry. The idea made her sick, but unless she did the unthinkable, or moved back to the Other Side, she was stuck.

"Beggin' your pardon ma'am." Cain broke in, holding his hat in his hands. DG watched him, confused. He wouldn't look at her, though. He just kept watching her mother, until the Queen gave him permission to continue. "I'd be willing to marry her."

DG felt her jaw drop open in shock at his declaration. Her gaze danced back and forth between him and her mother as words tried to form in her head.

"Is that what you want, Mr. Cain?" Ahamo asked, sizing the man up in a very fatherly way.

"I don't want her sufferin' in a convenience marriage with some prissed up nobleman. If she has to marry, let her marry a friend. I'd like to think I'm a good man. I'll treat her well and raise the baby as mine."

"Are you out of your mind?" DG finally asked when the shock loosened her jaw. "You don't want to marry me." She believed that in her bones. And while she didn't want to marry anyone without love, marrying Cain seemed more a punishment. For him. Why would he want to waste his life like that? What did he get from this arrangement?

Cain didn't look at her. He didn't even twitch to acknowledge she'd spoken. That made her huff angrily.

"Very well, Mr. Cain. If you're sure." The Queen deigned with a bow of her head.

"Hold on, wait a minute. Don't I get a say in this?" The look her mother leveled on her told her that frankly no, she didn't.

"DG, I know this is difficult. But as you see yourself in a delicate situation, you need to weigh your alternatives carefully. And as I can see, being a princess in the House of Gale, you have only one option afforded to you. Marriage. As Mr. Cain put it, would you rather be married to a 'prissed up' nobleman? Or to a friend?"

DG looked back over at Cain and at least had the satisfaction of seeing him blushing again. She studied him, really looked at him for the first time since he'd fallen out of that tin suit. He was easy on the eyes. Very easy she admitted. He was a great man, not just good and strong. She knew that he would keep his promise to her mother and that her baby couldn't ask for a better potential father.

As far as husbands went, she knew she could get a worse one. Who knew whom her parents would be willing to throw at her in their rush to get her married before she started showing. But…_Cain?_ She didn't feel anything other than a deep friendship for him. Was that enough to live a life with someone? What about sex? She didn't think that she could go her whole life without ever having sex again. Despite the fact that's what had gotten her into this mess to begin with. And she didn't think, since he _was_ a friend, that she'd ever be able to take a lover, like they did in all those movies she'd watched.

_Cain doesn't exactly look like he's in need of Viagra yet, _her inner voice pointed out. That so wasn't the point. But that didn't mean he would ever want to have sex with her.

And why was she thinking about this. They were trying to marry her off. Without giving her any say.

DG started to turn away, to start arguing again, when Cain finally looked at her. What she saw in the liquid blue of his eyes gave her pause. He was asking her, with a look, not to reject him. Why he would think her not wanting to force him into a marriage was rejection she didn't know. But she found herself snapping her mouth shut and cocking her head to the side.

The Queen took her silence as acquiescence. "We must begin preparations. I'd say we have a lot to do in a week."

DG was still gasping for air at that declaration as Glitch led her out of the room.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Cain waited outside of the Queen's offices, waiting for his son. Jeb was back from trying to rally the resistance fighters flung wide across the country. The hope was that they would promise their allegiance to the House of Gale. Cain didn't hold out much hope for that. In the last month, he'd heard things. The people of the OZ were upset about the lack of justice doled out for Azkadelia's crimes against them. The fact that her head was still attached to her body offended some people.

He could feel a Civil War brewing. Could hear it on the streets of Central City. Skirmishes dotted the country thanks to the few legions of the witches followers that were left, but the grumbling of the Ozian people was worse. The monarchy was quickly wearing out its welcome and if the Queen couldn't figure out a way to reunite them under her rule, Cain didn't think the royal family would be in power much longer.

He'd heard that Jeb was in the castle and had let DG's usual guard escort her back to her room. He could tell she was bursting to talk to him, but he needed to see Jeb first. Cain wanted Jeb to hear about the marriage from him and not anyone else.

It had been incredibly easy to decide to marry DG. The idea had struck him almost immediately. The notion of her _having_ to marry someone left a bad taste in his mouth. A girl like DG needed the whole deal. The romance, the love story, the devotion of a man made only for her. And she was going to lose her chance for that, because of a mistake and the propriety of the OZ. Women just didn't have babies without husbands. He didn't know how they did it on the Other Side, but here, it just wasn't done. And he couldn't stand the idea of her having to marry someone she didn't know.

Maybe that made him a sap, but he didn't care. After all she'd done for him, and the OZ, she deserved better than a cold marriage to who knew what sort of man. Cain had had his great love. He didn't have any illusions when it came to the situation. He just wanted her to have a chance at some kind of happiness with a man she at least liked a hell of a lot.

And, he had to admit that the idea of having another chance at fatherhood was too good to pass up.

The sound of a door opening pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Jeb leaving the office. He returned his son's smile and pushed off the wall he'd been leaning on.

"Father," the younger man greeted, accepting the hug his father gave him easily.

"Hello, son. Good to see you." It had only been a couple of weeks, but they'd been separated for much longer than that.

"You too. How's guarding the royals going?"

"It's been a thrill a minute." Cain told him dryly. With a look at the woman with the pencil in her hair, he steered Jeb away from the openly curious look on her face. "How are things out in the real world?" Jeb fell into step beside his father and adjust his stride to keep up with the much longer one of the other man.

"Not as good as we'd hoped. The splintered factions of Longcoats are causing a lot of trouble along the coastline. And the few resistance fighters left don't want to pledge their allegiance to the new Royal House. They don't really believe that the witch possessed Azkadelia. And they believe the Queen is releasing that story to protect her daughter."

Cain sighed. The news was just about what he'd expected.

"But that's not why you were waiting for me," Jeb said. It wasn't a question.

"No, it wasn't." As captain of the Royal Guard he would have been briefed on the situation. "We need to talk about something."

"All right." Jeb answered slowly. He followed his father out into a small courtyard. There was a fountain, silent now, and a stone bench. It was secluded and quiet. Perfect for what Cain had to tell him.

"You're going to hear soon enough, DG's in the family way."

"Really?" Genuine surprise widened Jeb's eyes and Cain could see the curiosity in them.

"Yeah. The baby doesn't belong to anybody on this side of the rainbow. It happened before she blew in here. She's just now finding out."

"Ok. That's interesting. But what does it have to do with me?" Cain sighed and sat down on the bench, staring into the stone basin of the fountain.

"I'm going to marry her." The sun was behind Jeb so he had to squint when he turned to look at him. He wasn't sure what he expected to see, but the wide-eyed, stony stare wasn't it.

"Really," Jeb said again, slowly. "Why?"

Cain sighed and ran a hand over his hair. He wasn't wearing his hat and duster, since he hadn't had to leave the palace. He could imagine what Jeb was thinking. He was sure that his son thought he was dishonoring Adora in some way. He hoped he could make the young man see he wasn't.

"She's going to have to marry. The Queen has already said so. DG seems to know that's the only way she can go now."

"So why you? Why do you have to marry her?"

"I don't have to, Jeb. I want to. And not because I'm in love with her." He said this flatly. He needed Jeb to know that. It wasn't that he didn't think he could love DG, or that he would deny the possibility. He was still in love with Adora. Jeb had to understand that.

"This is just because she needs a husband."

"Yeah."

"She's barely older than me, Dad." Jeb practically exploded.

"Age has nothing to do with this, Jeb." Cain replied sharply. Strangely enough, he hadn't even thought about the differences in their ages. It hadn't mattered.

"No, I'm sure it doesn't. The fact that you're old enough to be her father doesn't look strange at all. I mean, you'll be the envy of all the old men in town."

"Enough. You might be grown but you will not talk to me like that." Cain had surged to his feet and towered over his son.

"I'm sorry." Jeb looked anything but.

"Since it seems to matter to you, I'm not _that_ much older than her. In case you forgot, you're mother and I married young." They were glaring at each other. This wasn't how Cain wanted this to go at all. "I'm sorry this is upsetting you. I'm trying to help a friend. A friend that helped save this whole damn country that's now about to fall apart. I think you can understand that. And if you _can't_," Cain bit out, fighting to keep his temper in check. "You can at least pretend long enough to stand up with me at the wedding."

"What about mother?"

And Cain figured that was the root of the problem. He'd known it would be. Telling him he didn't love DG didn't seem to be enough.

"You're mother, is dead." He still choked on the word. It still hurt to think it. He saw Jeb flinch but he didn't completely shrink from it. "And nothing is going to bring her back. I'd hope that she would understand and approve of me helping a friend."

They fell into silence then, as Jeb seemed to digest his father's words.

"I don't have to call her mother, or anything do I?"

Cain's lips twitched and he shook his head. " I think that would be a bit awkward for both of you." Jeb gave a quick grin that did a lot to settle Cain's nerves.

"I always wanted a baby sister."

"Raw says the baby is a boy."

"Even better." Jeb smiled now and slapped Cain on the arm. "I don't know how to feel about this."

"Yeah. I'm still getting used to it too." Cain admitted with a smile.

"I'll stand with you. I just hope you know what you're doing."

"Son, I never do anything without thinking it through." Cain reminded him. Jeb nodded, his doubts written clearly in his eyes. After a moment, Jeb flashed a tight smile and walked away. Cain sighed and watched him go, hoping he hadn't damaged his relationship with his son beyond repair.

IIIII

DG felt like she was swimming in quicksand. Since the night of the storm, one thing after the other had happened to her. And if she was a whiner-which she could be sometimes-she would scream and cry and holler about how unfair life was. Like finding out your life is a lie isn't enough. Then she has to find out that she's pregnant. And there was no way that the father would ever have anything to do with the baby. Because she was a princess, no matter she wasn't raised like one, she had to marry to cover her little mistake.

Like people can't count the months between her marriage and the birth of the baby.

She was going to marry Cain. Wyatt Cain. Former Tin Man and current captain of the Royal Guard. Because he wanted to do her a favor. How the hell was she supposed to pay back a thing like that?

DG felt sick and it had nothing to do with being pregnant. She was going to be trapped. Cain was going to be trapped. How could she let him do this? He was her friend and even though that was his motivation for marrying her, it was her motivation to _not_ marry him.

_So what are your options?_

Did she have any? She could run away. But she had a feeling that no matter where she went, unless she figured out how to get back to the Other Side, Cain would find her.

Could she go back to the other side? She had no idea how to conjure a travel storm. Az might.

With this thought, DG left her room. She figured Cain would come back eventually and want to talk to her. She'd just make sure she wasn't around.

The silent figure of her bodyguard slid behind her. She bristled knowing he was there, but she'd given up that fight a long time ago. There was a lot going on in the OZ that her parent's were trying to keep from her, but she wasn't stupid. The country was falling part and the Royal Family was in danger. So she dealt with her ghostly guard. At least Az's rooms weren't that far from hers.

"Az, do you know how to conjure a travel storm." DG barely let the door swing shut behind her as she walked in without knocking. She'd been so lost in her thoughts it hadn't occurred to her that she should. Az merely looked at her sister with an upraised brow and set aside the book she was reading.

"I do. Not planning on leaving your Tin Man at the alter, are you?" She asked with a touch of amusement.

"He's not my Tin Man, and how did you hear about that already?" DG corrected and flopped down next to Az on the window seat.

"That dreadful woman that keeps our parents appointments told her daughter who's the maid that cleans this floor. I happened to hear her telling my guard."

"Lissy?" Az nodded and patted DG's shoulder at her miserable look. "Great. That means everybody in the castle knows by now. And the rest of the OZ should know by midnight."

"Sooner, I'd suspect if they talk as fast as Lissy."

"So, travel storm. I need one." Az's smile turned sad.

"DG, I know how to make one. But it's not magic. A machine did it. And that machine was destroyed to keep the rogue Longcoats from being able to escape to the Other Side."

If DG had thought it was impossible for her to feel more miserable, she was wrong. She was stuck. Truly and completely stuck.

"You know, little sister. There is a way to take care of your problem." Az said this carefully, slowly. She was uncertain of how DG would react and she didn't want to upset her.

"I know. I figured there was. That's just not for me." DG told her. Az nodded, smiling slightly.

"Then, if you don't want to get caught in this marriage, the only option is to run away. And I don't think you'll get far."

"I know I won't. I don't know why he's doing this."

"Maybe you should ask him. Would it be so bad to be married to him?"

DG thought about this for a moment just as she had in her mothers' office. "No, I don't think so. But I just can't imagine marrying for anything else that love."

"Unfortunately, my dear sister. Love is sometimes a commodity us Princesses don't get to enjoy. At least, he's not a stranger."

"I know, I know. I just…" DG ran both her hands through her hair and blinked back tears. "I guess I need to talk to him." She sighed and tried to smile at Az as she stood up. "If this does go through, will you be my maid of honor, or whatever it's called over here."

A look of delight washed over Az's face making DG think that at least one good thing could come out of this.

"I will. Thank you."

DG just nodded and left the room. And found that her guard was once again replaced with Wyatt Cain.

"Do you have radar or something?" Cain flashed a smile and DG couldn't help but return it.

"Where you're concerned, it would come in handy. We need to talk." DG nodded and she followed him down the hall to her room.

"You going to tell me you've come to your senses and you don't want to marry me?"

"Not hardly, kid. I'm afraid you're stuck with me." He'd meant it to sound teasing, but it was exactly what DG was thinking, only more that he would be stuck with her.

"I can't let you do this, Cain." They stood in the middle of her sitting room; much like they did the day she'd told them she thought she was pregnant. "I appreciate the gesture, but you don't want to marry me."

"You can read my mind now, Princess? You so sure you know what goes on inside of me?"

"No, I haven't got a clue." DG admitted with an irritated huff. "But dammit, if I wasn't pregnant you wouldn't be begging for my hand. So, that leads me to believe that this grand gesture of gentlemanliness is strictly for that reason. And I don't want you resenting me later."

"I won't resent you later."

"You say that now. But what are you getting out of this? A wife you don't love and a child that's not yours. How can you believe you won't resent me after this warped sense of duty you feel wears off."

"It's not a warped sense of duty. And do you want to know what I get out of this?" He took a step towards her, his eyes flashing with something she couldn't put a name too. "I get a lot more than you think. You see yourself as baggage. I see you as a brave, strong woman that needs help. Any man would be proud to be married to a woman like you. And as for that baby, if I marry you, DG, that baby _is_ mine. Just because my blood isn't running through his veins doesn't make him any less mine." He spoke softly, his words washing over her like a balm. She could see in his eyes that he meant every word he said, but she wasn't quite ready to give in.

"Cain, if you want to be a father again. Find a woman you can love and do it that way. Have another child that is yours fully and completely. You deserve that."

"I do love you DG." _Well, that was unexpected_, she thought. "Maybe not like a husband should love his wife, but I don't feel like your father either. I don't know, if I have it in me to love another woman the way I loved Adora." DG had a feeling that was more than Cain had ever admitted about his feelings, ever. "But you shouldn't write me off because you think I'm throwing my life away. I don't do anything I don't want to do."

She knew that. She knew, all along, that he'd thought this through carefully. That he wouldn't just make a brash decision based on his over-protective nature towards her. He would feel he owed her more than that. If he didn't feel he could give her a complete commitment, he wouldn't marry her. The thought was humbling and terrifying.

"Ok." Cain blinked at her as the word slipped from her lips.

"Ok?" DG sighed and slid onto the couch, feeling very tired.

"Yeah. Ok. Cain, will you marry me?"

"I thought I was supposed to ask you?" He said, sitting down beside her. Without thought, she dropped her head to his shoulder.

"I'm from Kansas. They do things different over there." She snickered at the thought. Yeah, Kansas was a real daring state, all right.

"I could guess that." She could hear the smile in his voice, even though she didn't look at him. "What was his name?" She didn't have to ask who.

"Josh."

"Why did you break up?"

"It wasn't messy or anything. He was real smart and he got a chance to study abroad."

"Did you love him?" DG took a minute to answer that question, trying to find the words.

"I thought I did. He was sweet and kind and he made me laugh. But, I look at my parents, the way they look at each other and I know. I've never felt like that. The way you looked when you thought Adora was still alive. I've never had a man feel like that about me." She felt Cain's hand rest on hers and give it a squeeze. She yawned as the fatigue that was always there settled over her again. At least the nausea seemed to be taking a rest for now.

"Go to sleep, kid."

"You know, you're going to have to stop calling me that."

"Then I guess you better get used to calling me Wyatt."

"Ok, Wyatt." She tried it out, liking the way it felt on her tongue. It reminded her of gunslingers and outlaws. It had an almost rugged, romantic sound to it. She liked it. "So, just so we're clear."

She heard him groan in frustration and she giggled.

"What?"

"This is a marriage. Not just in name."

"We're partners, DG. From this moment on."

"Ok." She liked that sound of that, too.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life and all DG could think about was puking. It seemed that the little darling inside of her was all in a furor and had been working over time on emptying her stomach. With that and the whirlwind wedding plans, all she wanted was death. Or a bed. Whichever came first was good.

"DG, come on. I know you feel awful…" Az cajoled, trying her best to get the Princess out of the bathroom.

"Awful is such a benign word. Try horrible, or worse than horrible or like the stuff they scrape off the street after a car accident." Yeah, she was going to die and she really wished she'd get on with it. She knew Az was on the other side of the door looking gorgeous. Her sleek, midnight hair was done in an elaborate upsweep with thin tendrils curling around her face. Her make up would be perfect, her dark blue dress a glorious contrast against her alabaster skin.

The blue wound up being the color of the wedding as the bride and groom both had blue eyes. The idea made DG want to puke. Of course, everything else did too-_breathing_ did for Gayle's sake-so she wasn't sure if that was a good indicator of her true feelings on the matter.

All she wanted to do was lay here on the cool tile of her bathroom floor and die. Why couldn't they understand that?

"Oh good. Maybe you can get her out of there." She heard Az say on the other side of the bathroom door. DG didn't hold out any hope of her mother being able to pry her off the floor.

"I'll see what I can do." That voice was definitely _not_ her mother. DG groaned and tried like hell not to start crying. God damned hormone swings. She didn't want Cain…Wyatt, to see her like this. They'd barely seen each other at all during the past seven days. Only at meals and whirlwind wedding meetings. He'd actually had to be outside the castle quite a bit, working in Central City to keep the peace. Not that anyone wanted to tell her what was going on in her condition.

DG sighed and pressed her forehead to the floor and willed the latest wave of nausea to go away.

"DG, open up, darlin'." Her lips twitched at that. He'd taken to calling her those little endearments over the week, when they could actually say 'boo' to each other without anyone interfering. She wondered if he was playing up the part of fiancé, but then he started calling her 'darlin' on a regular basis. She liked it.

"I don't think I can move," she said, sounding pitiful to her own ears. "Door's not locked. Az just didn't want to see me hurling."

"Do you blame me?" Came Az's response through the slowly opening door. No, she really couldn't. "I'm going to go tell Mother your ill. Maybe she can stall."

Ill, how delicate that made DG's agony sound. There wasn't a damn thing delicate about it.

"Sit up a little bit." Cain said, gently. She angled her head and looked up at him.

"You look pretty." She said. He rolled his eyes but he couldn't stop the smirk. She couldn't help it, he did look good. He was wearing a pair of black slacks that were tailored to perfection. To say they put those tan pants of his to shame was saying something. A crisp, white shirt was perfect contrast to the tailored jacket he wore over it. The high collar of the shirt complimented him instead of making his neck look too short. His face was freshly shaven, his silvery blond hair recently trimmed. He was wearing the medal her mother had presented him, as well as Glitch and Raw, after the eclipse on his left breast and his Tin Man star on his right. Then she remembered that couldn't be his tin man star since he'd left it on Adora's grave. Next to that was the medal that indicated he was the Captain of the Royal Guard. She thought he should have more, but maybe that was just the fact he was in a dress uniform and every one she'd ever seen had been practically swimming in medals.

Lord she hoped that woman didn't haunt her for allowing Cain to do this.

Cain…_Wyatt_, smiled a little and settled down on the floor next to her.

"Don't do that. You'll get all dirty." DG protested. He ignored her and put a hand on her arm.

"Come on, sit up."

"Don't wanna."

"I know. But I have something that might help." DG wanted to whine and flail and get really, really bitchy. She decided against it after she reminded herself whom she was dealing with. Besides, if he annoyed her too much she could just puke on him.

"All right." As slowly as possible, DG sat up. Wyatt helped her settle against the wall then he took a minute to look at her. "What?" DG asked, looking at him from the side of her eyes.

"Besides being a little green around the edges, you clean up nice Princess." That's it, she was marrying the devil and this was her hell.

"Bite me, Tin Man." She said testily. She was wearing her wedding dress. She'd gotten that far, at least. And what a battle that had been. Who knew that deciding on a simple column of eggshell colored satin could almost cause a civil war? A Royal Civil war. Her mother had wanted her to wear this elaborate number layered with lace and silk and it had a _bustle._ There was no way in hell she was wearing a bustle. Her hair was a mess, she was sure and with no make-up she was probably giving the white tile floor a run for its money. Cain chuckled and picked up a glass and a plate of small cookie looking things.

"Here. Sip this slowly, then nibble on one of these." She looked at the glass full of a clear liquid dubiously. He just held it patiently until she reached out and took it. She took a sip and was pleasantly surprised that it reminded her a little of warm Sprite. Then she took one of the cookies and literally nibbled the edge. It almost tasted like licorice and her roiling stomach actually seemed to calm down.

"What is that?"

"That's ginger water. Adora always swore by it when she was pregnant with Jeb. And the cookies are my mothers old remedy for sour stomach."

_Praise be the Cain women, _DG thought Then, she realized he'd mentioned his mother and her curiosity got the better of her.

"Where is your mother?" His smile turned sad and DG wanted to kick herself for asking. For better or worse, this was their wedding day and dammit, he should be cheerful, at least.

"She died when I was in the Academy. My father went soon after the witch took power." And then he'd lost his wife and thought he'd lost his son. DG wanted to hug him and weep for his losses. She wasn't sure she would have been able to get over it. She guessed he must have seen it in her eyes, because he cleared his throat and dropped his gaze, an embarrassed tinge turning his ears pink.

"Thank you, Wyatt. I think I might be able to stand long enough to get married now." She offered him what she hoped was a bright smile. Then, the reality of the day dawned on her now that her stomach wasn't taking up precedence in her thoughts. "You can't be here." She exclaimed suddenly, scrambling up. He looked surprised when she tugged him up and started to push him out of the bathroom. "It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. And we need all the luck we can get. Tell Az I need her for damage control."

This last was shouted through the door that had been slammed shut. Cain stared at the door, amazed that she'd gone from miserably sick to frantic bride in the space of ten seconds.

"Is DG all right?" Az came back in the room, followed by her mother.

"She's fine now. She needs you." Az nodded and skirted around the Tin Man to knock on the door.

"I thank you for helping my daughter, Mr. Cain." The Queen said once Az was in the bathroom with DG. He had a feeling she was talking about more than just helping with some morning sickness.

"Not a problem, ma'am." He inclined his head to her and left the room. Once in the hallway he tugged on the high collar of his shirt. A dress uniform. He couldn't believe he'd been talked into wearing one. Hell, he hadn't even owned one up until three days ago, when Jeb delivered it to his room. Wyatt had stared at it, horrified. DG had gotten out of the bustle, why did he have to wear the uniform? He quickly found out that his future mother in law was a force to be reckoned with.

Jeb fell into step next to him as he made his way down the grand ballroom. The whole palace looked like a floral shop had exploded inside. Flowers, blue bunting and candles covered every available surface. The tables were draped in silvery white linen with dark blue runners. His first wedding had been a simple, quiet affair with just him, Adora and some family. This…this was a madhouse.

"I guess this is what you get when you marry a princess." Jeb seemed to answer his unspoken thoughts. If he didn't know any better, he'd think his son was laughing at him.

"Don't see why we need all these people here. DG hasn't been in the damn OZ for fifteen years. She can't possibly know any of them."

"That doesn't matter. It's all about keeping up relations with the other kingdoms. There will be some that have their noses bent out of shape that the next Queen is marrying a commoner and this is a way to let them in on the fun, even if they don't get the prize." Jeb told him as they came to a stop outside the main hall. People were milling around, looking over dressed up and overly curious.

"DG's not a prize to be won." Wyatt sounded appalled at the notion. This was why he hadn't been able to allow her to marry one of the pompous asses wandering the grounds. They were probably estimating the price of the china and how much they lost by her marrying him.

"I agree. But that's not the way royalty thinks."

"And how, my boy, would you know how royalty thinks?" Cain asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Last time I checked, you were just as common as me."

"Well, I've spent a lot of time with Princess Azkadelia this week in preparation for this fiasco. She explained things."

That figured.

"A lot of the nobility around here already thinks they lost out when Ahamo married the Queen. Now the heir apparent is gone and Azkadelia doesn't seem to be an option for any of them." Jeb shrugged and raised a hand as if to run his hand over his hair. He seemed to think better of it and dropped it. He was wearing a uniform much like his fathers, but the color was a deep blue to match Az's dress. He looked about as comfortable as his father felt.

They stood in silence for a moment, each watching the hustle bustle in the castle. It was only going to get worse as the day wore on. Cain suddenly felt a migraine working behind his eyes.

"You know, dad, I'm still not sure how to feel about this. But I like DG. I hope you're happy." Wyatt turned and looked at his son, shock widening his eyes. Jeb just gave him a smile and clapped him on the back. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Cain smiled and pulled his son into an embrace. He held on to him, trying to convey all the emotions he felt but could never manage to say. They stepped away from each other and smiled. Then, Cain turned and made his way to the ballroom, all the eyes turning to him and making him twitch.

_Damn, I wish I wore my gun, _he thought. He didn't even try to smile at the curious people turning to look at him. He saw distaste on some faces, anger on a few others. Most seemed to just be hungry for gossip and their first look at the man about to marry the future Queen was something to chew on.

He and Jeb marched up to the altar. He really just wanted to get this over with. He hadn't had much time to think lately and today definitely wasn't the day for self-reflection. He'd barely been able to talk to DG, which annoyed the hell out of him. They were going to be married and no matter that this wasn't a great love affair going along its natural course, he still needed to talk to her. To get to know her better.

They'd spent the better part of seven days traipsing all over the OZ together, learning all about DG's past, but she knew little about him. And aside from her past here, he didn't know anything about her life on the Other Side. He didn't suppose it was a great way to start off a marriage, but at least they'd have something to talk about for a while.

He resisted reaching up to pull on his collar again. He was a soldier and you didn't show your enemies any weakness. And right now, everybody in the ballroom was his enemy. Everybody save Jeb, Glitch and Raw, who were sitting on 'his' side of the room. And if that was what counted for his family, Cain felt pretty good about it. He looked over at them and smiled when Glitch waived enthusiastically. He was dressed in a new uniform similar to the one he'd worn on their journey. But this one at least was clean. His zipper shone bright in the middle of his head and Cain noticed that several people around him were giving Glitch looks of distaste. Luckily Glitch didn't seem to notice.

Raw sat next to him with a smile of approval on his mouth as he looked at Cain.

He hadn't talked to them about his decision to marry DG, but neither had seemed surprised when it came out. Maybe they'd all gotten to know each other better than he'd thought.

When the music started, all eyes turned to the door. The Queen entered first, graceful and beautiful in her floor length gown of lavender silk. She smiled and nodded at a few of the dignitaries. As she sat down, a gasp of surprise rolled over the crowd. Azkadelia stood at the entrance, her dark eyes wide as she realized every one was staring at her. She looked like she might bolt. Then, to Cain's surprise, Jeb materialized at her side and offered her his arm.

The look of gratitude on Az's face was bright and she happily took his arm. Wyatt swelled with pride as his son led her down the aisle, whispering to her softly. Once they reached the altar, they separated, but not before Az gave Jeb another, glowing smile.

"That was nice of you." Wyatt whispered awhen Jeb came to stand beside him as the music changed to announce the bride. Everyone stood, their curious, spiteful eyes eagerly awaiting DG.

"It was nothing." Jeb answered looking embarrassed. Cain thought that maybe it was definitely more than nothing.

He was still smiling when he turned and saw DG. Then, his breath literally stopped.

The woman currently coming down the aisle looked nothing like the woman he'd just left in the bathroom. In the little bit of time since then, she'd transformed from a pale, tired looking waif to a glowing, vibrant young woman. Her dressed skimmed down her body, floating around her ankles like a cloud. Her hair was done in an elaborate twist at the nape of her neck and her eyes were a wide, brilliant blue. She smiled at him as her father escorted her down the aisle. She ignored the people around her as much as he had done, except for Glitch and Raw. They both smiled as she kissed her father and allowed him to place her hand in Cain's.

Wyatt looked at no one but her as the preacher started to speak. She was nervous and still not feeling well; he could see it in her eyes. But she held herself with dignity and grace. Her hand held his tight, her only outward indication that she had any anxiety. He was finding it very hard to concentrate as he looked down into her eyes. He realized, that this was the first time he truly saw her as a woman. And what a woman she had turned into. She was stunning, her youth and light making her shine. He felt strangely humbled in her presence, and it was all he could do to answer the preacher when prompted.

"And by the light of the Gods and the power bestowed on me by House of Gayle, I pronounce this couple, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

If there had been one moment about this whole wedding business that had made Cain nervous, it was this. But now that it was here, nerves were the last thing on his mind. His gaze dropped to her lips just in time to see her tongue dart out to moisten them. To his astonishment, that small action made his heart skip. Slowly, he drew her to him, his eyes returning to hers as she slid into his arms.

She was a little stiff in his embrace but she didn't try to pull away. She dutifully tilted her head up to his, her fingers tightening in his lapels. He dipped his head and gently rubbed his mouth against hers, getting her used to the idea of kissing him. She let out a little gasp, her lips parting just slightly. He took the opportunity to fully capture her mouth and he felt his world tilt with the contact.

Her taste washed over his senses, erasing every thought in his brain. His arms tightened around her, pressing her closer as he took his time. She clung to him, her mouth moving under his eagerly in response. He felt a fire start in his blood, a slow burn that surprised him. Desire was a foreign concept to him these days, but his body seemed to have no problem remembering.

With a great deal of effort, Cain pulled away. To his great relief, she looked just as surprised as he felt, but her eyes held that slightly smoky haze of desire as well.

The preacher cleared his throat and startled DG and Wyatt both into remembering where they were. Somehow they managed not to jump away from each other like guilty teenagers and merely turned to face the guests. Cain couldn't get up the nerve to look at his son, so he stared straight ahead.

As he and DG walked down the aisle, thunderous claps erupted from the guests. He could still feel the heat from her lips on his, the smell of her perfume lingered in his nose. These new feelings for DG unsettled him. He wondered just what this meant for their wedding night.

* * *

**A/N**-Sorry this took so long to get out. I just needed a break from writing. Life changes might be imminent and we need to discuss. So, yeah. I hope you like and I hope to have the next chap of Tinman/Runaway Princess next. 


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

DG was exhausted by the time the reception wound down. She'd danced with people she didn't know and decided she was better off not knowing. She'd danced with her father, Glitch, Raw and even been swung around the floor by her brand new stepson. That had been a little awkward. The entire night began to run together into one big blur as fatigue and her friend nausea began to settle in.

That's when Cain swooped in. And there was really no other word for it. She'd been dancing with crown prince duke somebody or the other, not even trying to laugh at his jokes. Trying to simultaneously _not_ yawn or throw up in the man's face had been taking up most of her concentration. He seemed to be pretty appalled at her from what she could tell.

She'd been just about to give her excuses, find Wyatt and get the hell out of Dodge, when she felt him gently grasp her elbow. The fact that she knew it was Wyatt before she turned to look was a little freaky, but she didn't dwell on it. Relief had spread through her at the look in his eye. He was as done with the pomp and circumstance as she was. She smiled-at least she hoped she'd smiled-at the grand high pooba she'd been dancing with and slid her arm through her husband's.

_Husband._ _Her husband._ It was still an odd concept to realize that the tall, blond Tin Man was hers. At least in the legal sense. It felt even odder to be walking down the hall with him towards a room she'd always gone into alone.

Her stomach did a little trip when the memory of their kiss sprang unbidden to her mind. For the first hour of the reception, that had been all she'd been able to think about. The softness of his lips, the gentle way he'd urged a response from her. She couldn't ever remember being kissed like that before. It had been wonderful.

Her nerves were working over time, now at the promise that kiss had held. Her imagination had called up images of warm nights spent under the covers, huddled close while lots more of that kissing was happening. She imagined the feel of his hands as they slid over her body, chasing away the memory of any one else she might have been with and filling that space with him.

Then mind-numbing fear had taken over and she suddenly felt very, very sick indeed.

Part of her wanted to kiss him again, to make sure that what happened at the altar wasn't a fluke. Another part of her didn't because she was afraid he might be thinking of Adora as he kissed her, using her as some sort of surrogate for his dead wife. That certainly didn't set well with her. When and…when anything happened between them, she had just enough pride left to not want him thinking about Adora. No matter how much she respected the woman, that just wouldn't be cool. She didn't think her ego could handle it.

"Relax, Princess. Hard parts over." Cain told her as he led her through the halls. She didn't tell him she thought he was wrong. The hard part hadn't even started yet.

"I'm all right. Just really tired. Does the tired ever go away? Or the sick? Or how about the just general crappiness? Am I ever going to feel good again?" She sounded close to whining and she hated that. But, even Princesses whined sometimes.

"Yeah." Cain said with a chuckle. DG was so tired, she leaned heavily against him. Without a word, he slid his arm around her waist and held her up. She was extremely grateful. "In a couple of months, the worst should be over."

_Should _didn't sound very promising.

"I haven't thanked you. I know it sounds strange, thanking a man for marrying you, but this is a hell of a strange situation."

"It is. But don't thank me. That makes this seem sterile, cold. And I don't want that." He looked down at her, his clear blue eyes deep and unfathomable. She felt a thrill run down her spine and she almost stumbled. He felt it and held her closer, the heat of his body seeming to sear through the sheer material of her dress. There was something in those orbs that had her holding her breath, waiting for him to kiss her again. The intensity of the moment spread between them until DG was sure her nerves were going to pop.

Somewhere in the castle, someone very inconsiderate dropped something very heavy. So heavy it made a loud bang that broke the moment. DG almost screamed. Almost. Because at just about the same time, she felt the urge to throw up.

_Shit._

"We need to hurry." She said. He nodded in understanding and ushered her quickly down the hall. Her door swung open and DG forgot all about her nausea. "Where's my stuff?"

They both stood in the door, staring at the empty room in shock. And it was empty. Echo empty. _What the hell?_

"Your Highness," a gasping voice said behind them. Turning, DG found Lissy, the blabbermouth maid, looking decidedly out of breath. "I'm sorry ma'am. I meant to be here when you came up. But I was down looking at the people in the ballroom. I'm so sorry. Please don't tell my mother."

"Don't worry. Just tell us where the Princesses things are." Wyatt asked calmly. DG could sense his impatience with the girl. Most people had that reaction to Lissy.

"In your suite." Lissy said looking at them like that was the obvious answer.

"Suite?" They said together.

"Yes. Come on." The blond girl seemed to perk up that she was going to get to show them something they didn't know about. She took them down the hall and up one flight of stairs. By the time they found themselves outside of a pair of double doors, DG was clinging to Wyatt like he was the only thing keeping her upright. And she had to admit, he was.

Lissy stood at the door, making sure they were both paying attention before she swung it open with a flourish. Cain whistled as they crossed the threshold. Without a thought, DG swung the door closed in Lissy's face. They each moved to a different part of the main room and looked around, the vastness of the space surprising them both.

A huge window greeted them, covered by heavy, white curtains. The furniture was the kind she hated. Old, uncomfortable and expensive. What she would do for a recliner or a squishy couch. The rug was thick, muffling their steps as they tried to take it all in. Flowers and candles adorned the tables, deep red blooms DG had never seen before. She briefly thought about asking Cain what they were than thought better of it.

He was a guy after all.

Wyatt had made his way to the far right of the room, and DG saw he was standing in a small kitchenette. She blinked at that and followed him over as he pulled open the cold box.

"Fully stocked. Guess they don't want you to get hungry." He told her, smiling.

"Ugh. Food." She' actually eaten some at the reception. She just hoped she didn't regret that soon.

"You look tired, Princess."

"Quit calling me that, Wyatt. It's…weird." He shot her a grin as he swung the cold box door closed. That grin made her heart do a little trip. He really was good looking when he smiled. It kind of wiped away the years, the hard edge that seemed ever present. She suddenly realized she wanted to kiss him again. Very much.

"Sorry. I'll work on it." He captured her hand and led her to the back of the suite. Her heart went into complete spaz mode when she realized just what room waited for them back there. How could he be so calm?

"I think this is bigger than the farm back in Kansas." She said, trying to hide her nerves. Her voice sounded a little to high to her, she hoped he didn't notice.

"I _know_ this is bigger than my homestead." Cain opened the first door and found a bedroom. DG thought she might pass out as he led her inside. She settled on the edge of the bed, watching him as he looked around. The bed was done in a soft peach, the blankets looking fluffy and comfortable. The walls seemed to glow gold, illuminating the room better than any lamp. "Looks like all your things are here. But mine aren't."

That was weird.

He went to another door, which DG found was the bathroom. God, the tub was huge. She wondered if it were possible to fall in love with a bathtub. Peach seemed to be the color of choice in here, offset by splashes of black with the marble and accessories. Through the opposite door was another bedroom.

"Guess I'm supposed to sleep in here." No little amusement filled his voice as he looked around. Near identical to her room, except the colors were black with cream walls and carpet.

"This should be the nursery." She said, looking around. But he was right. There was his holster draped on the bedpost. His hat and duster were thrown across a chair like he'd already been there to make the space his own.

"It will be. If you want it to be." Her gaze shot to his at that. There was no mistaking the heat in those eyes. Her heart started its race again and her breath caught in her throat. What the hell was she supposed to say to that?

Cain smiled at her and turned his head away. She wanted to say something, but she still didn't know what. Despite her current circumstances, she wasn't exactly an expert on men. There had been one other guy before Josh, but both of them had been young, damn near boys. There was no mistaking that Wyatt was a man.

"Come on, DG. Time to tuck you in." He was teasing her. That had to be a good sign, didn't it? She watched him unbutton his jacket and sigh gratefully as he pulled it off. Then he reached out a hand to hers and led her back to her room. She followed, her nerves kicking in again when the reentered her room. He left her to stand as he sifted through her belongings.

She thought she should say something. After all he was going through her stuff without so much as a 'can I?" But she found didn't really care much. It wasn't like she had anything she didn't want him to see. "Here you go. Why don't you go take a bath? I'll make you some tea."

Oh god, he was going to make her tea? Who was this and where was her Tin Man?

"Ok." Was all she could manage. Then she saw the mischief in his eyes and felt her nerves slide away. She grinned back at him and took the clothes he held out to her. "Thank you." She started to turn away, stopping only when his warm, calloused fingers closed around her wrist. "Wha…"

Her words were cut off when his lips closed over hers. She practically melted against him, her mouth opening easily under his. He took his time, just like on the altar, his lips making the most delicious sensations cascade down her spine. The thought that Wyatt was definitely a man reentered her thoughts and this kiss proved it.

"Have a nice bath." He said when he pulled away. Bath? She'd probably drown now. He'd practically kissed her boneless.

"Uh huh." She managed as he squeezed her hand, his smirk firmly in place. Evil, evil, evil Tin Man. He better watch it. She might get really good at using her magic and turn him into…well, she didn't know what. Because it couldn't be disgusting. Because she was married to him and all. Dammit.

* * *

Wyatt left the room, softly closing the door behind him. That kiss had been a cheap trick, he knew. But she needed to get used to him, to his touch. Not that he'd ever try to get her to do something she didn't want, simply because they were married. And if her eyes hadn't clouded when they kissed at the altar he wouldn't have tried to kiss her in her room.

He rolled his sleeves up and made his way through the suite to the kitchenette. He'd felt overwhelmed when the maid had opened the door. He'd just gotten used to sleeping in a bed again. How the hell was he supposed to sleep in this place?

A quick search of the cabinets revealed a teapot and some tea. He quickly put the pot onto boil and went in search of a cup. He would kill for some coffee, but he really didn't feel like making it. So, he added another cup and resigned himself to tea. He probably could have summoned the kitchens to make his coffee, he realized as he measured the tea. That wasn't the way he lived and he wouldn't start now.

Wyatt was tired. The reception seemed to drag on forever. He'd wanted more than once to just call it a day and bring the very tired DG back to her room for some rest. He was pretty sure she wasn't getting any, since the morning sickness seemed to be rough. Adora had been sick only in the mornings for the first few weeks. Then she'd been fine the rest of the time. He had heard that pregnancy was different for every woman, hell for every pregnancy with the same woman. And DG's looked like it might be a hard one.

Maybe he shouldn't have kissed her. She was having a hard time and sex or any incarnation of it might not interest her. It had been a spur of the moment decision. She'd looked so nervous when he'd led her to the bedrooms, he just couldn't resist. She was so beautiful in her wedding dress with her eyes so wide and expressive. He couldn't believe he'd missed how lovely she was.

_It just hadn't been a priority, _he reminded himself. Now, he was looking through different eyes. He could admit, to himself anyway, that he had a touch of hero worship towards her. After all, she'd taken on the fate of the OZ onto her slender shoulders and hadn't buckled once. Every new bit of information that turned her truths into lies hadn't shaken her. She took everything thrown at her with little or no complaining and did what was right.

He hadn't been lying when he told her she was amazing.

Too bad most of the OZ didn't feel the same way. There had been rumblings at the reception, things said under breath and into the air that were only half hidden from the Royal Family. As far as he could tell, nothing made it back to DG, or even Az, but he'd heard. The nobles spoke of a coupe. Like the OZ needed another one. They whispered that the Queen couldn't rule, that she'd lost her ability while in captivity and her daughters were too weak to take over.

The people of the OZ were quickly losing the little faith they had in the house of Gayle. Trouble was coming. And fast.

The teapot whistled and Cain poured the boiling water over the tea in the cups. He let DG's steep for a few minutes as he drank his, savoring the warmth if not the flavor. He'd never understood how Adora could drink this stuff, but it seemed to calm her when she was upset.

He wouldn't let anything happen to DG, he thought with a sudden fiercness. Even if he had to take her away from the palace. Hell, if he had to take her back to the Other Side, he would protect her and the baby. They were his now, his to keep safe. He'd failed Adora and Jeb. He wouldn't fail her.

Wyatt swallowed the rest of his tea with a grimace, and then picked up DG's cup. He made his way back to her room and gently knocked on her door.

"Come in." She called sounding nervous again. He couldn't help but smile. When he opened the door he saw she was already sitting in the bed, her hair damp and braided, her face washed clean. She looked so young right then, he almost felt shame for his desire for her. Then he saw the way the plain t-shirt clung to her breasts and shame was the last thing he felt.

He composed himself as he walked in.

"Feel better."

"Yeah. This has been a crazy week." She punctuated this with a yawn. He smiled and set the cup onto her nightstand. She scooted over a bit and patted the spot next to her. "Look, I want to say something…" she started. Wyatt quirked a brow and waited. Her pale skin flushed bright under his gaze and he was strangely charmed by it. "I know it's our wedding night and I know what's supposed to happen and considering the way you kiss I wouldn't object to it but I'm really tired and I still feel sick and I just don't want to start something and it's still a little strange and…"

Wyatt interrupted the long, run on sentence by tapping a finger against her lips.

"No hurry. Whenever you're ready." Gratitude brightened her face and she let out a relieved sigh. She sighed again when he leaned forward to brush his mouth against hers, and it was a happy sound. "Goodnight, DG." He got up to go, fully intending to leave her alone for the night. Then her tiny hand snaked into his, pulling him to a stop. She looked almost sheepish and her blush was back in full force when he looked down at her.

"Could you stay?" She whispered this, looking up at him through her lashes. He smiled and reached out with his free hand to run a finger along her cheek.

"Sure. Just let me clean up." DG nodded and let him go, settling back against the pillows with her tea.

It didn't take him very long to wash the craziness of the day away. He'd gone into his own room to hunt down something to sleep in. He settled on a pair of cotton pants he'd frankly forgotten he'd owned. He generally didn't bother sleeping in anything.

When he walked back into DG's room, she was already asleep. He chuckled and walked across the room, sliding into the bed as carefully as possible. He settled into the soft mattress, thinking there was no way he'd be able to sleep. Then DG rolled over and curled up next to him like a cat. It didn't matter if he slept, if his presence was enough to let her get some rest.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and settled down as much as he could. He listened to her breathing and in a matter of minutes, he drifted off himself.

* * *

a/n-So i've been getting some comments about how distracting my comma use is and my minor spelling errors are. Not that i've spelled the word wrong, but used the wrong one. Just so there's no confusion, I am not interested in a beta. I had one when I wrote spuffy and while I liked her alot, it slowed the process. I'm a...instant gratification kinda girl. I do a pretty darn good job of cleaning up the junk myself-you should see how these chaps look before I run spell check. Scary. And since I deal with editors in my other writing life, I'd just like to keep this fun. So, in short, I know about the errors, I do my best to fix them, and no I'm not getting a beta. Much love to everybody that likes this story, including those that get aggrivated at my grammar/punctuation usiage. Hopefully you'll stick around to find out where this goes. Review, please. I'll give you lots of something. wee. Wow, this was almost as long as the chapter. ;) 


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Over the next several days, DG found out that she didn't know very much about Wyatt Cain. Aside from the obvious traits he wore like his duster. Loyal, stubborn, brave, strong, blah, blah. And bossy. Mustn't forget bossy. Granted, she hadn't let that one get to her while they were trying to save the OZ. After all, it was her show then, and he was along for the protection detail.

But, it was the little things she didn't know about him. How he liked his coffee for instance. They hadn't had any on the road, since running for your life countered creature comforts. And she found out quickly enough. He drank it black. Which she should have realized because as the OZ's resident answer to a cowboy, of course he would drink it black. Wyatt Cain wouldn't sissy up his coffee with cream and sugar. Hell, if given the chance, she was sure he'd chew the beans and spit them out like tobacco.

And she wasn't feeling good. Which made her testy. Not that he'd done anything to really earn her testiness. She was just finding some of his habits…distracting. Like the fact that he was a complete neat-nick. She wasn't a slob or anything, but she was prone to leaving her pants where they dropped, her hairbrush on the counter in the bathroom and her art supplies kind of helter skelter.

Not Cain. _Everything_ _in_ _its_ _place_ should have been stamped across his forehead. He had a tendency to clean up after her. Which, thanks to the hormone roller coaster she was on, annoyed the living hell out of her. And his super, over attentive, _what do you need _attitude was grating her last nerve too. To tell the truth, this Wyatt Cain was obnoxious.

Where was the one she'd traveled with? The one that bossed her around and got so damn frustrated when she didn't listen? Where was the man that had stood next to her on that hill and lent his strength as they went into battle?

Where was the man that had kissed her like she was the most amazing thing he'd ever encountered on their wedding day?

He hadn't tried anything with her the last few days, which both relieved and aggravated her. In fact, aside from sleeping next to her every night, he pretty much gave her a wide berth. Well, not all the time. He would sometimes come up behind her and run his hand across her back. Or she could swear, that right when she was in that half dream stage between waking up and asleep, she'd feel him press a kiss into her hair. She pretty much understood that he was letting her set the pace, to let him know when she was ready for more.

But dammit! Did he have to be so gallant all the damn time? She was starting to think that some pod person had crept into the castle and taken her Tin Man away.

DG sighed and tossed away the pictured she'd been working on. There were no cameras in the OZ from what she could tell and she was trying to draw Cain the way he looked on their wedding day. She knew that there was some royal painting thing commissioned, and if they didn't want her to show, they'd best get on with the modeling.

But that seemed so cold, so…._ royal_.

There should be snapshots of her shoving the cake up his nose. Or of her dancing with her father and laughing when Glitch spun her around too fast. There should have even been a picture of her kissing Jeb on the cheek and him blushing ten shades of red because of it.

Seeing as how none of those things had happened, it would be hard to have pictures of them. But they should have.

She looked around the suite and couldn't help feeling like the pauper taking a holiday in the princess's castle. She didn't want all this stuff. It seemed kind of hypocritical to have it when the country was in a state of turmoil. The unwashed masses-or the washed, she didn't know-were restless. They weren't telling her anything, of course. But gossip had a way of getting around.

All you had to do was say 'Hi' to Lissy and you found out what was happening in this country as well as the five closest. And Lissy didn't care if you were a pregnant, newlywed who was supposedly too ignorant of the politics of the realm to handle it.

Even her own husband-another strike against him at this point-was treating her like a porcelain doll when it came to the unrest across the land. He was gone, right now, out talking to his son and probably her mother as they try to decide what to do. She might not have had any idea of how to fix the country, but at least she would have been informed.

"Come in!" She near screamed when the knock on her door came.

"Well, you sound happy."

"Hi Az. Coming to keep the little pregnant princess company?" Az settled on the couch next to her, the epitome of grace and decorum. DG suddenly felt like an ugly duckling next to her.

"Not if you're going to be rude." She said, her dark eyes amused.

"Sorry. That seems to be my only mood lately." The only good thing she could say about things at the moment was her urge to throw up everything seemed to have passed for the most part. Fatigue still plagued her and her boobs were awfully tender, though.

"It's understandable, I'm sure." Az crooned, patting her sister absently on the leg.

"Yeah. To what do I owe this visit?"

"I just came by to see how being married is suiting you."

"You want to know if we did it." DG said, cocking an eyebrow and trying not to laugh at the blush that stained her sisters cheeks.

"Of course I don't. I would never ask such a question." Her sister sputtered.

"Really? I would if I were you."

Az stared at DG for a full five seconds, trying to gauge if DG were teasing her. She shook her head in amused disbelief when she realized her younger sister wasn't.

"Very well. Did you?"

DG snorted and decided she loved her sister very much right then.

"No."

"You sound disappointed." It was DG's turn to blush,

"Well, no. Or, uhm, it's not that…huh. I wasn't comfortable."

"So? What's the problem then?"

"He said we would when I was ready. And it's not that I'm ready, but he's not exactly doing anything to make me ready. Wait…that doesn't sound right."

"He's being a gentleman?"

"Yes!" DG slapped her knee for emphasis.

"Most women would appreciate that." Az told her.

"I know that. And I do. But, damn. I mean, I like kissing him. The whole two times we did. And it completely rocked my socks." Az looked confused at this term, but she didn't interrupt. "But since the wedding, he's only kissed my cheek or my head when he thinks I'm asleep."

"Talk to him. It worked before didn't it? You were dead set against marrying him. You talked to him and here you are."

"Yeah. I know." DG flopped back against the couch and grabbed a pillow to pluck aimlessly at the seam. "Do you want something to eat?"

"No, I've already had lunch."

"Really? Mother and father out of their meetings?" It seemed that their parents were always in meetings these days. She looked up when it took Az a moment to answer and her radar went up when she saw the blush once more staining her sisters cheeks. "Or maybe you didn't eat with our parents."

"No. No I didn't." That was all she said, prompting DG to throw the pillow away and lean forward.

"Oh? Do tell."

Az fidgeted and glared at DG, her mouth drawing into a thin line with embarrassment. "I'll have you know, it was completely innocent."

"Well, if you have to declare it innocent, it rarely ever is. Spill."

"Fine!" Az looked extremely uncomfortable and DG might have felt sorry for her if she hadn't latched onto the idea of Az having a date and not telling her about it. Now, she had to suffer the wrath of her left out sister. "I ate lunch with Jeb Cain."

"Jeb?" This took her back a bit. "Wyatt's Jeb?"

"Yes, your stepson."

"Whoa Az, that's weird." DG said with a laugh. Az snorted in a rather un-princess way but she couldn't quite hide the hint of a smile that played on her lips.

"I suppose so."

"When did that happen? And why wasn't I told?" Now she was really annoyed. Her sister was stepping out with her stepson and she was just now finding out? How unfair.

"Nothing has happened. I just had the luck to come upon him in the palace and I asked him to join me for lunch. It's not like I get a lot of company these days." This was said with just the tiniest bit of misery. DG automatically felt guilt seize her and she reached out to clasp her sister's hand.

"I'm sorry, Az. I didn't mean to tease you." She should have been eating with her sister. Even if she'd puked for an hour afterwards, DG should have dragged her sick, pregnant ass downstairs and spent time with her sister.

"Don't, Deeg. You've had your own problems to deal with lately. Don't go taking on mine as well."

"I can't help it."

"Try." Az told her firmly, squeezing DG's hand and smiling. "I had a nice lunch with a nice man. It's a first for me. Be happy."

"Are there going to be anymore nice lunches with this nice man?" DG asked.

"I don't know. We spent a lot of time together while the wedding nonsense was going on. We got a bit friendly. Let's just keep it at that."

"All right." DG didn't want to give Az any more grief. If that's all it was, great. If there was more…well, still weird. But great too.

"Are you really upset that Wyatt isn't trying to charm his way into your bed?"

"Oh, he's in my bed. We're just not doing anything in my bed. Where I come from, married people don't normally sleep in separate bedrooms." DG told her when Az looked a bit scandalized. "And we slept practically next to each other for a week before the eclipse. I already knew he snored. Glitch does too. And Raw talks in his sleep."

"Well, I think that's more than I wanted to know about them." DG just shrugged.

"I don't know. I'd like to say it's just the pregnancy and the upheaval of the wedding and all that's got me all…blechy. But, I think I'm just bored. Nobody talks to me about anything. When I walk into dinner the talk stops. And my lessons with Tutor have been cut back so I can't even play with my magic as a distraction."

"Oh? Like hours of listening to him say 'let the light flow through you' is a lesson?" The sisters shared a snicker at that. "DG, they just don't want to worry you about things you can't change. I'm not even sure mother can change them. If a time comes when you need to know, they'll tell you."

"Do you know?"

Az huffed and rolled her eyes. "I know even less than you. And what I do know I gleaned from that fluff of a maid Lissy."

"Me too."

"If you want to know anything, just ask her. Twit."

"Az, be nice. It's not like she can help herself. At least she's not vindictive about it, like her mother."

"True. That woman is…" Az shuddered delicately, the image of the hard eyed woman that stood guard on their mother's office coming to mind.

"Yeah." They sat in silence for a few moments, content to just be together.

"Are you scared?" DG didn't need to ask what she meant.

"Terrified. I have no idea what to do with a baby." DG had always known, that somewhere in that faraway, still unseen future of hers that she would have kids. She generally liked kids, although she didn't always like their parents. But that would have been a long time off. She'd still had plans, things she wanted to do. And all that was _before_ she found out she was a princess of a world in an alternate dimension. At least she thought they were in an alternate dimension.

Now here she was, pregnant and married to a man she liked, not loved. Granted, her libido seemed to be alive and kicking and she certainly wouldn't mind seeing her husband naked. But this whole situation was surreal at best.

Tears, that always seemed ever present these days, welled up and burned her eyes. She felt, rather than saw Az move and suddenly she was wrapped in her sister's arms. The strangeness of that didn't overwhelm the feeling of comfort and she let go. Everything that had been building up in her since that twister tore through her front yard poured out of her in a river of tears and onto Azkadelia's beautiful blouse.

Luckily, the storm of her emotions was intense, but short. When the worst was spent, she pulled away from Az and gave her a grateful smile.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Az asked, retrieving tissues and a glass of water. She had a huge wet spot on her front but she didn't seem to care.

"For that." DG pointed at the spot with a watery chuckle. Her sister barely looked down.

"Here." She handed DG the tissues and the water. "I'd give you something stronger but I don't want my brother in law dragging me down to the retaining cell." She received an unladylike snort in response. "Now, it will be ok. You, I have no doubt, will be an excellent mother. And I'm pretty sure Wyatt will make a good father. A little intense, but a good father. It'll give him the chance he missed with Jeb." There was a softness to Az when she said this that had DG's ears perking up.

"Aha. There _is_ a little something something going on."

"God, you are like a dog with a bone." That sounded very un-princess-like and DG loved it.

"Thanks, Az. For just being here." She said seriously.

"Oh, well…. Of course." Az blushed and looked incredibly pleased.

The sound of the door opening had them both turning to the door. Wyatt walked inside, took one look at DG's tear reddened face, Az's wet blouse and DG could all but hear the alarm bells going off in his head.

"Everything ok?" Az merely arched a brow at the accusatory look he shot her.

"I'll talk to you later, Deeg." Azkadelia patted her knee and got up, breezing past the Tin Man with barely a backwards glance.

"Bye." DG wiped her face clean and sipped more water, casually ignoring her husband as he eyeballed her. She wanted to smile, since this was the first time he'd acted like the Cain she knew then the pod person she'd married.

"DG, are you ok?"

"Peachy. How's the OZ?" She got up to take the water back into the kitchen and found herself looking at his chest.

"I can get that for you." Great, Pod Person alert.

"I can manage. I'm pregnant. My legs aren't broke." She veered around him, refusing to look at him.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing." She was practically bristling with irritation and he hadn't been in their suite five minutes. She heard the concern in his voice and felt guilt for her irritation, which made her even more irritated. Hello, vicious cycle.

Out of habit and to have something to do, DG opened the icebox and peered at her choices for lunch. She wasn't really hungry, but it beat looking at the hovering husband. She could feel him, standing at the wall between the sitting area and the kitchenette staring at her. She could sense his edginess, his want to figure out what was wrong but not knowing how to go about it.

When did he turn into such a wuss?

"Cain, quit staring at me." DG closed the door with a snap and turned to face him. He flinched, looked away then stared at her some more.

"Look, what's wrong. I can't help you if you don't tell me."

"I don't _know_ what's wrong. Things that shouldn't bother me are. I'm pregnant, tired, scared and married to someone that runs hot and cold with me and I don't know what to expect…from anything. I feel like I'm going crazy and the one thing I thought I could count on was you."

"Why don't you think you can count on me?" Finally, she saw a chink in that perfect man armor he'd been wearing since he'd stepped up to tell her mother he'd marry her.

"Because you're not who you were." She didn't know how to say it plainer than that.

"DG you aren't making sense. Why don't you just go sit down and I'll make you some tea."

"God dammit I don't want any God damned tea!" She pounded a fist against the icebox door, ignoring the pain that sang up her arm. Cain got that leery look on his face that people do when presented with a rabid, wild animal.

"Ok. Why don't we just sit down?" He shrugged out of his duster and tossed it across the back of a chair.

"I don't want to sit down." This was said a little louder than her last comment and for the first time she saw a spark of temper in his clear blue eyes.

"Then why don't you tell me what you want?" He hadn't shouted, but it was definitely said with an edge to his voice. She felt a grim satisfaction with that.

"I want you to be the man I spent a week with before the eclipse. I want you to look at me and not see this little princess that needs your protection. I am not your cause, Cain." She stared at him, her eyes threatening to spill tears again and she fought to keep them back. They had only been married a week, but his constant vigilance over her, like she was some sort of fine china was driving her crazy. She'd had doubts about the marriage to begin with, but his attitude towards her was making it worse.

"I told you that I would take care of you."

"I don't want you to take care of me. You said we were partners. Well I'm not feeling like a partner. I'm feeling like the ornament you put in a box and protect with bubble wrap." She could see her term threw him for a second, but she didn't feel the need to explain. "Quit treating me like I'm going to fall apart."

"Fine!" Aha, there he is, DG thought when he threw his arms up in frustration and tossed his beloved hat across the room. "Tell me how you want me to be and I'll be. I was trying to be your husband."

"Did you treat Adora like this?" The blunt question had him rear back in surprise but she at least saw him put some thought into it.

"No." Came the answer after a much shorter time than she expected.

"So why treat me that way?"

He looked like he really didn't have an answer for that. He opened his mouth once or twice, like he wanted to say _something_, but nothing came out. Then, he finally seemed to compose himself and he looked up at her. His eyes, the first clear memory she had of him were his eyes, locked with her and she could swear that she saw his soul right then.

"I lost everything. My wife, my child. My life. Everything because of a war. Now…now, darlin', there's a chance for another one. And I promised to protect you. To keep you safe, not just from marrying a stranger. You and that baby, you're my second chance." He looked away from her, his words touching her heart and making it ache. She felt horrible for being so emotional. But she figured, she had an excuse, no matter how lame.

"I'm probably not saying it right. And I'm sorry for treating you like a cause."

"No, you said it just fine. But, you have to remember that I'm just DG, not the pregnant princess that you got stuck marrying. And another thing…" She rushed on when he started to protest that. She felt her skin pink up at what she was getting ready to say, but she figured some levity was in order. "When I said I wasn't ready for sex, that didn't mean you were supposed to stop kissing me."

His mouth quirked, then a hint of a smile curved his lip. "You want me to kiss you?"

"Not if I have to ask for one." She said huffily. He started to move towards her then, and suddenly she felt like the pray of a particularly large predator. She backed up a step. She couldn't help it.

"You could have just kissed me, instead of waitin'." _Eep_, she thought. She probably could have. If she'd had the nerve.

"Well, you know…I didn't want to overstep my…what?" DG's train of thought veered largely to the left when he paused in front of her. They were so close she could feel his heat. He leaned over, crowding her, until his lips were a hair's breadth from hers.

"Do you want me to kiss you, DG?" he whispered, his eyes boring into hers and making her heart skip.

"Yes." She breathed, nearly crying when his mouth closed over hers. A tiny moan slipped for her lips as heat suffused her body with just that gentle touch. She felt his hand slide around her waist, pressing her sagging body against his. She opened her mouth and ran the tip of her tongue across his bottom lip, sliding it inside his mouth when his own lips parted. It was his turn to moan and she felt a thrill that she'd caused it.

"So," he said when they broke apart gasping for air. "Wanna start this over again?"

"Yeah, I think so." He chuckled and pressed a kiss into her hair. At least she was awake this time. "Will you tell me, what's going on?"

DG looked up at him then, begging him silently to trust her. She didn't realize he already did.

"Ask me whatever you want. I'll tell you what I know."

* * *

A/n-sigh. I hope you all like this one better than you liked the last chapter of _Tinman/Runaway Princess._ Remember, reviews grease the wheels of the muse's thinking machine. TTFN. Oh, yeah. apologies if this is completely incoherant. I didn't fine tooth comb it as much as I usually do. :D 


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

As the Cain's settled on the couch, DG felt her nerves kick up into overdrive. Here, she was finally getting what she wanted; honesty about what was going on in the country. Now she felt like she wanted to tell Wyatt to stay silent, to keep her in the dark of things that were beyond her control.

Instead, she sat, looking at her husband and hoping it wasn't as bad as she feared.

"So, DG. What do you want to know?" He had a sad smile on his face, like a parent did when their child figured out that Santa Clause wasn't real.

"Everything." She answered, sliding closer to him and lacing her fingers through his. He looked surprised at the small contact, but he didn't pull away. His thumb started to rub her lightly across the back of her knuckles and his eyes looked straight into hers and he started to talk.

"After the eclipse, I think the worst anybody expected were the Longcoat factions still out in the OZ that didn't know or didn't care about the witch's defeat. Cleaning them up would be a bitch, but nothing out of the ordinary. What surprised your mother was the resistance by the people of the OZ in general to the return of the house of Gayle. A lot of people don't trust the Royals. They see Az, still able to walk about the castle, even going to our wedding, as if nothing had ever happened."

DG wanted to interrupt, to defend her sister against these unseen people that wanted to do her harm. But she had to stop, to will herself to hear it all. Cain seemed to know this, as he stayed silent for a moment.

"I know it wasn't her fault. That's fine for us that were there in the tower. Most of the citizens only saw their Princess take power from their Queen in a really bloody coup. And since then, they were plunged into years of terror. Not one person in this zone wasn't touched by the witch's wrath."

DG knew that to be true. Glitch, still missing half a brain and sporting his zipper. Raw, still skittish and only now willing to use his seeing/healing powers. And Cain. The tears welled up in her eyes again for the pain her friends, her husband had been forced to suffer. And even though she knew it wasn't her _sister's_ fault, all they saw was the sorceress wearing Az's face.

"I can understand that, but there's been evidence given to prove the possession. Mother had Raw show several of the delegates of the realm what happened. That she wasn't in control of herself."

"Yeah. And because of that, a lot of people blame the queen. I'm not sure she helped herself with that. She might have done better to exile Az someplace like the Northern Island palace and just let her live out her life there." DG was sure that Cain saw what she thought of that written on her face. "I'm not saying it's the best thing for Az, just your mother's hold on the country."

"So what? Are the people going to be planning some sort of take over themselves?" Cain shrugged and gave a short nod.

"It's possible."

"On the Other Side, where I lived, we had a democracy. A president and a senate. A lot of the countries over there were a democracy. Most countries that had monarchies, they also had a parliament. I know in England, the royal family is really just a figurehead. And the Prime Minister runs things."

"You sound like you wouldn't mind a coup." He teased lightly. She felt her face redden, but smiled.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind an end to all the bullshit that seems to go with being royal. I really don't like being paraded around like a prized horse on show." They both had a vivid, unpleasant memory of their wedding and shuddered.

"Yeah. Me too." Cain leaned back on the sofa, rubbing a hand over his very tired eyes. Without thinking about it, DG reached over and massaged the back of his neck, feeling the tension there. "The problem is," Wyatt continued as her fingers played gently against his skin. "The skirmishes between the royal guard and the few resistance factions scattered around the country were annoying. But, the outlying countries are starting to take notice. There's even some that seem willing to help fund an upheaval."

"Why?"

"Who knows? While the witch was in power, she pretty much let them do what they wanted. She took no notice of their wars, treaties, and alliances. As long as they left her alone, they could backstab and kill each other at their leisure. Now, with your mother back in power, they're expected to play nice again or they won't be allowed to trade with us. They figure if the country is in a civil war, they can play both sides of the coin and wreak a hell of a lot of havoc."

"What's going to happen?"

"I don't know. I'll admit, this is out of my realm of knowledge."

"Do I have to worry a lot?"

"It won't come to that. If there's even a hint that danger is coming this way, I'm getting you out of here."

She blinked at him, surprised that he would make such a statement. It wasn't that she had any desire to stay for a violent war among her mother's people. Or her people. God she didn't know. It was just strange to hear that _he_ would leave.

"I fought the first time, DG. I'm tired and I just want a little peace. I hope you don't think that makes me a coward."

"No." she didn't think there was anything that could make her think that. Would she be willing to fight to remain in her pretty palace with all the trappings if the people she was supposed to be ruling didn't want her there? She was home in the OZ, yes. She had a hard time with her family still. Az was the only one she felt a real connection too. But what about the station she was born to? Did it matter to her if she remained a princess?

She knew that answer was a resounding 'no'. She hadn't felt at home on the other side, but she had valued her freedom. She missed it.

DG would fight for her family, for their lives. But if the citizens of the OZ were ready for a new way, who was she to tell them they can't have one? Change was inevitable. Even in the OZ.

Somehow, without any real thought from either of them, they were closer to each other on the couch. DG had a leg slung across Cain's, the other tucked under her. Her hand was still rhythmically rubbing his neck, her fingers occasionally sliding over the softness of his blond hair. He had a hand draped across her thigh and the other was doing amazing things to the arch of her foot.

They were sitting like a married couple that had been married for a while would. Sitting and chatting about their day. Even though they'd had to have a fight for him to spill. Why worry about that? This was nice.

"So, all of this is why I've been having to grill Lissy for a lot of screwed up information?

"You've been grilling who for information?"

"The maid from Az's floor. She's the one that showed us to our newlywed suite." A look of recognition came over his face followed closely by annoyance.

"You thought you'd get anything useful out of her?"

"Well, my husband wasn't cooperating. And neither were my mother, father or Glitch, surprisingly. I can usually get him to dish. Mainly because he forgets he told me like a second later." Apparently he'd made a special effort to keep her in the dark.

"You being pregnant has him in protective mode. You think I'm bad. You're lucky you're allowed out of bed. If he had his way you'd be propped up on mountains of pillows with a bell to ring to have scores of maids bringing you chocolate and ice cream."

"What's wrong with chocolate and ice cream?" In fact, her stomach seemed to roar in approval of those two things. Cain chuckled at her and shook his head, careful not to dislodge her fingers.

"Nothing. I told him you'd probably turn him into a munchkin or something if he even suggested it to you."

"Nah. Not a munchkin. They have terrible fashion sense. Not that mine is anything to write home about. But at least I don't dress up in multi colored turkey feathers."

Wyatt merely arched a brow at this making her laugh. "Take me for a walk, Wyatt. I'm tired of seeing the inside of this damn castle." He looked surprised at the request, but didn't deny her. He stood and pulled her up. When they were both standing, he held her hands and looked into her eyes.

"DG, if we did have to leave the palace, for whatever reason. Would you be ok with it?" Now it was her turn to be surprised.

"Yeah. As long as the rest of my family is safe, I have no love for this place. It's just a building that's overstuffed with a lot of pomp and circumstance. I mean, look at this place." She waved a hand around the room, an incredulous laugh drifting into the air. "This isn't me, anymore than it's you. But you're a sport for wanting to put up with it." She gave him a light jab in the shoulder, a smile curving her lips.

"I couldn't just let you have all this fun by yourself." She snorted at that, a decidedly unfeminine sound.

"Gee, thanks. I'm starved." DG declared suddenly, her stomach screaming to life after several weeks of repelling anything even remotely resembling sustenance.

"Ok. What do we have to eat?" Cain moved towards the kitchen, her request for a walk taking second to her wanting to eat. The fact that he was about to make her something tugged at her heartstrings, even though it had annoyed her to no end just a few moments ago. She was psycho that was all there was to it.

"God, I want pizza." The urge for gooey, stringy, tomatoey pizza was almost physical. The fact that Wyatt looked at her like she'd asked him for a slice of the moon didn't deter her.

"What?"

"Pizza. Bread crust, tomatoes sauce, and lots of cheese. Great, gooey goodness that just begs to be gobbled up. I want pizza."

"Well, since I have no idea how to make that, I don't see how we can fix that."

"I do. There's got to be something in the kitchens that will do." Like a woman on a mission-and really, a pregnant woman looking for food was a mission-she grabbed Wyatt's hand and pulled him from their room. To his credit, he just let her pull him along.

* * *

A/N- ahem, I'm baaaaaaack! And yes, this is shorter than the others. But, hey, at least it's an update! I hope you enjoy this little slice of married goodness. I don't claim to be a great conspiracy theorist and to tell the truth, politics irritate me. But I hope I kept the upheaval simple and to the point. Anyway, enjoy. Now I have to go figure out how the hell to get them out of that mess in TM&RP. Eep. 


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

To say that the kitchen staff was scandalized when the youngest princess blew in to the kitchen with her husband in tow was an understatement. When she merely waved their offers of assistance off and went about searching through the cold box on her own had more than one of the staff bristle. She all but ignored the head chef when he stalked over to inquire, politely of course, just what the hell she thought she was doing.

Her husband merely kicked back against a counter and watched with mild amusement as she disrupted their routine by pulling out a hunk of uncooked bread dough that had been left to rise on the counter. Next, she pulled out a red sauce from the cold box and gave it a sniff, then a shrug and put it next to the dough. A wedge of cheese came next, after being tasted to make sure it suited her mysterious needs.

Then, to the horror of the baker, she took a knife and hacked a piece of the bread dough, rolling it into a ball and setting the rest aside. None of them would admit the little bit of awe they felt when she tossed the circle she'd made out of the dough over her head. The low whistle from the Tinman said it all. The princess blushed a little after she caught it and tossed it again.

"I used to work in a pizza parlor when I was in high school. Much better than my last job. But it closed down when the owners moved." None of this save the last bit made much sense to anyone else in the room. Whatever this 'pizza' was, the process of making it was fascinating.

She tossed the dough a few more times, stretching it until it got a little cumbersome for her tiny hands. Then she laid it flat on the counter and went in search of something. When she found the paddle used to pull the bread out of the oven she let out a triumphant 'aha' and slid the dough onto it. She took the sauce, which she didn't know was made out of a savory fruit indigenous to Finaqua, she slathered it on the dough. Next, she went to work on the cheese and with a knife that looked dangerous in her hands, she hacked it into thin slices. She arranged the slices on the 'pizza' then dusted her hands off and looked at her creation with a satisfied smile.

"Now, it's just twelve tiny minutes to cheesy goodness." She sounded so excited it was hard to hold onto the resentment that the royalty had invaded the kitchens. For most of them, anyway. It was impressive that she even knew what to do _in_ a kitchen, to begin with. None of them would bet whether or not Princess Azkadelia or even the Queen would know where to find even a fork in the massive space.

A dozen minutes later, she used the paddle to pull the pizza out of the huge brick ovens that dominated the back wall. She slid it onto a clean worktable then used that wicked looking knife again to cut it into wedges.

"Come here, Tinman and have a life changing experience." She drawled, pulling a wedge free and twirling the stringy cheese around a finger before breaking it off. The connotations behind that comment came to life as she put that finger in her mouth and sucked the cheese off, a look of pure rapture on her young face.

Now, everybody in the kitchens knew the Princess was pregnant. And everyone also knew that her husband wasn't the father. But the way he looked at her right then, his clear blue eyes smoldering with want and hunger that had nothing to do with the pizza, made it hard to believe he wasn't.

Everyone paused in their work and held their breath as he pushed away from the counter and walked over to her, his gait easy and slow. The Princess swallowed and gave him a saucy smile as she held the slice out to him.

He quirked a brow and looked at the pizza, reaching out to grip her wrist to bring it to his mouth. The observers would have said, that the young princess watched this action with rapt attention. Her smile didn't slip as he took a bite, chewing hesitantly at first then with more relish once the flavor of the food proved to be good.

"That's good, DG. Damn good." He confirmed, taking another bite.

"Hey, that's mine. Get your own." She teased, trying to pull her wrist free from his blunt fingers. He grinned, the look completely changing the Tinman in the kitchen staff's eyes. There was something about these two. A comfortable friendship that had heat simmering underneath to make the staff think that maybe this marriage wasn't such a joke after all.

It seemed that the couple didn't remember or care about the eyes watching them. With one motion, the Tinman had pulled the Princess against him, steadying her with a hand to her back. He then guided her hand back to her mouth, offering her the bite with a smirk. She laughed, a sound that many didn't associate with the royal family, as it sounded so free, so full of life. She was a special one, this little princess. And it wasn't entirely because of her saving the OZ.

"Good, isn't it?" She took a huge bite, talking around her food in a very un-princess-like way.

"Yeah. It is." The Tinman answered, wiping sauce off the side of his mouth. It looked like the moment was going to turn more serious, and before that could happen to embarrass the married couple, one of the dishwashers dropped a glass. The sacrifice earned him a glare from the Tinman, and sent the dishwasher scampering to clean up the glass and escape the look.

The Princess let out a laugh that held neither nervousness nor embarrassment. She laid a sloppy kiss on her husband's cheek, smearing more sauce, laughed again and wiped it away. "Here, everyone. Try this." She looked around the room and waved a hand over the pizza. "You will thank me. Oh! Ice cream!"

She walked away from the Tinman and over to the freeze box, peering inside to the annoyance of the head chef. He didn't' say anything, though. He waved a hand himself to let his staff try the princess's creation, mainly because of the eyeball he was getting from her husband. A few took a piece, and then urged a few more to do so. Within a few minutes, the pizza was gone, and a new dish had been added to the palace menu. Even the head chef had a bite.

"God, this is wonderful." The Princess was diving head first-or spoon first-into a container of ice cream.

"You might want to slow down a little, there DG. You haven't eaten anything real substantial in at least a week."

"Try a month." A huge spoonful of ice cream made it's way into her mouth and she sighed with contentment. "Food, how I've missed you." Several workers snickered and the Princess giggled around the ice cream. "Come on, people. Take a break."

If they had been scandalized before, they were down right appalled at that. The head chef piped up again, his eyebrow drawn up in a very condescending way. "There are no breaks. We have work to do."

"Sorry." She mumbled, shoving in another spoonful to hide her pout. Some of the staff glared at their boss, behind his back of course. But the Tinman saw it and nodded his head slightly in approval.

"Come on, DG, time for that walk. I think you've caused enough trouble for one day." The Tinman walked over to her and took the spoon and ice cream from her, handed them both to a passing worker then started to pull her out of the kitchen.

Before they walked out, the Princess turned and grinned at the staff and waved. "Thanks for letting me invade your space." When she was gone, more than one person in the room was a little enamored with the princess.

* * *

"Glitch!" DG laughed and ran to her friend, leaving Cain to saunter behind. She landed in his arms and Glitch gave her a little twirl.

"DG." He squeezed her once, a huge grin on his face. He pulled back to look at her. "You still look like hell."

"Gee, Glitch. You sure know how to make a girl feel good." She gave him a light punch in the arm but she was smiling.

"Yeah, well…Cain. Hi." Wyatt tapped his hat and settled himself on a bench in the garden. He knew DG would like to get off the palace grounds all together, but he couldn't allow that. Not without a major security detail that would irritate the hell out of her and leave the palace without much needed protection.

"Hi Glitch." He said as DG took a seat next to him. Glitch dropped himself down onto the edge of the fountain and took one of his dreamy sighs.

"My surgery is next week. The healers and tech meds figured out how to put my brain back." He was practically bouncing, he was so excited. Wyatt felt DG tense for just a hair of a second before she replied with enthusiasm.

"Oh Glitch, that's wonderful." Underneath her smile and just behind the light in her eyes Wyatt could see her sorrow at losing her friend. He could see it, because he felt it a bit himself. Would Glitch still be Glitch after the surgery? Or would Ambrose find himself above being friends with a Princess that acted common and a broken down old Tinman?

"I know. I've been beside myself." He laughed at his own joke. DG smiled and Cain snorted, even though he had no clue what the Headcase meant. "When I'm all put back together, I'm sure I'll be back advising the Queen."

"God help the OZ." Wyatt said, grinning as Glitch huffed indignantly.

"I think the first thing I'll tell the Queen is to banish all annoying Tinmen from the castle." Glitch amused himself with that for a moment.

"That won't work to get rid of Wyatt, Glitch. Remember, he's my husband?"

"He is?" Glitch's brows drew together as he searched for yet another lost memory. "Oh yeah. I was there." He snickered at his glitch and shook his head. "I can't wait to remember all this stuff at once. And for more than five seconds. I think I've had a very entertaining life. Would be nice to remember it."

"You will," DG patted his hand and smiled. Silence descended and the three settled into it comfortably. It had been a while since they had all been together. There was one glaring absence. Raw was back with his people for a time, trying to settle them back into the life they'd once lived. Cain stretched his legs out in front of him and cursed leaving his hat back in the room. Damn, those suns were hot. DG shifted next to him, settling herself more comfortably on the bench. She wasn't quite tucked against him, but he could feel the heat of her body across the small distance.

He figured it was a testament to how long he'd gone without a woman that his body reacted almost instantly to her proximity.

It had been hard, telling her about the problems in the country. He knew it probably had something to do with his need to protect her. He also knew she'd been right to call him on it. He hadn't treated her like that before and he shouldn't have started now. Despite everything, their marriage, the baby, she was still DG. And he wouldn't have tried to keep her in the dark if she wasn't now his wife.

Wyatt sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying sitting in the sun with this woman and his friend. Such moments were few and far between. There had been almost none when he and Adora had been married. It seemed the resistance had started almost over night, leaving little time for sitting in the sun with his wife.

He had to admit, it was nice.

The day hadn't started out as good. Not with the briefing about the current situation with the outlying nobles. The Queen had all but told them that war was inevitable at this point. The idea made Wyatt sick. He didn't think he could do it again. To fight for something he wasn't sure he believed in anymore. That was something he wouldn't admit to DG. He didn't want to seem disloyal to her family. But maybe it was time for a new way.

His fight with DG had made his day even worse. Wyatt knew that pregnant women were touchy. He'd dodged a frying pan or two during Adora's pregnancy. But that had seemed mild compared to this. Making DG that upset by not being himself, that had been a strange thing to realize. She'd called him on it. He'd realized the error of his ways. And hey, no frying pans had been involved.

He vowed, to make it a point, to kiss her everyday. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it until she'd said something. The way she'd pinked up and stuttered at her own boldness had a significant affect on him. Hell, if he were honest, everything about her was having a significant affect on him. Sleeping next to her was slowly becoming torture. Hearing her breathe, her scent surrounding him, her warmth right there, begging him to touch. He had promised to be patient, but damn…he was only a man. But he knew, that nothing would make him take up residence in the second bedroom.

And then she'd dragged him down to the kitchens to make this mysterious pizza. The fact that it was actually good paled in comparison to how much fun she had making it. And how beautiful she looked. He was noticing that more and more. Her teasing when she offered him a bite had him wanting to use those counters in the kitchen for much more than food preparation.

"Oh my god." DG's shocked gasp brought him out of his thoughts. Surprise widened his eyes when he saw what had stunned her so. There was Jeb, his Jeb, walking with Azkadelia. They were moving through the garden, oblivious to anything around them and Az had her hand tucked comfortably in Jeb's arm. And they were laughing.

_Well,_ he thought. And that was really it. He looked over at DG and saw her smile, apparently happy that her sister was having a walk with a young man. Glitch, however, didn't.

At first, he thought the narrowed eyes and slight nostril flair was due to a residual fear leftover from the witch. It took a minute to realize that Glitch wasn't looking at Azkadelia at all. No, that look-which he now recognized as jealous anger-was directed at Jeb. _His_ Jeb.

_Well, damn._

He was still debating whether or not he should say something to the Headcase, when a sound reverberated through the garden that nearly stopped his heart.

"Get down!" Jeb yelled, pushing Az toward the ground and pulling out his revolver. Wyatt pulled DG off the bench and pulled his own weapon, looking at Glitch who was now shielding the young Princess.

"Get the girls inside. Stay down and don't get shot."

"Great advice there." Glitch moved toward Az, urging her toward him as Jeb hunch-walked toward the direction of the shot.

"Wyatt! Where the hell are you going?" DG reached for him, her hand just brushing his cuff since Glitch was trying to tug her as he moved away. Another shot rang out, hitting a tree very close to Az, who shrieked despite herself.

"Go on, DG." Wyatt's voice left no room for argument, but DG looked ready to do just that. "Dammit, DG. Get inside so I don't have to worry about you and the baby."

_And the baby_ seemed to snap DG into submission. She might be willing to do stupid things with her own life, but not the baby's. Satisfied, Wyatt reached out and pulled her in for a searing kiss, then he moved with son towards the source of the shooting.

DG could only allow herself to be led away.

* * *

A/N-so, there's this little blinking thing in Word that seems to be mocking me on Tinman and the Runaway Princess. It's saying 'you're blocked, you can't think of anything, you suck!' So, I flipped it off and wrote this chapter. :p Hope you enjoy. Hopefully, I can get the groove back on TM&RP soon. If not, we might get more of this for a while. LOL. Anyway, REVIEWS make the muse happy and the fingers clickety clicking. Enjoy. 


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight 

"God dammit." Cain hissed as the medic stitched up his wound. The bullet had just grazed his arm, but it burned like fire. "Stupid little sons of bitches." The medic quirked a brow at the curses dropping from Cain's lips like rain, but didn't say anything.

"I told you to duck." Jeb said, his face betraying none of his amusement. "Guess you're not as young as you used to be."

"If you weren't my son, I'd shoot you." Wyatt grumbled, snorting when Jeb chuckled. "Are those little bastards in a holding cell?"

"Yeah. You don't have to worry about them coming back to finish the job."

Jeb was having entirely too much fun with this, Wyatt decided as the medic finished patching him up. What had started out as a tense and frightening experience, his fear for DG a physical thing ended up being a nuisance.

They'd found them with relative quickness. Two men-boys-were hiding behind the trees toward the back of the gardens. Apparently they'd found some bravery in a bottle of whiskey and revolvers in their dad's closets. Never a good combination.

He'd have to have a severe talk with the royal couple about the security in the palace if two drunken teenage boys could scale the walls and start shooting at princesses.

The medic finished stitching him up and put a clean gauze pad over the wound. When he was done, Wyatt barely mumbled thanks and put his shirt on, ignoring the pain slicing up his arm due to the action.

"They'll be questioned, charged and hopefully have the piss scared out of them so they'll know better than to pretend to be men." Jeb continued as they fell into step together. Wyatt nodded and sighed. He hoped that would be all it took. But a glance at his son reminded him that not all soldiers started out over twenty.

"I need to go check on DG." He grumbled, more to himself than anything. He was worried, more so than before. This incident was a sad precursor to what could happen if war really did break out. And even though he knew that his princess was fine with Glitch, he needed to see for himself.

"I think I'll go with you." Jeb said casually, sliding his father a glance.

"Yeah. About that."

"What?"

"You looked kind of cozy there with Princess Azkadelia." Wyatt said, quirking a brow and watching his son's face turn red. _Uh huh._

"I told you. We got friendly during that wedding fiasco."

"Just how friendly are we talking?"

"Father!" Jeb's eyes widened in embarrassment and his jaw dropped with his father's question.

"Don't get all prissy with me, Jeb. I'm not one of these fussy royals. I get what goes on with a man and woman. What I want to know is if my son is going to be my brother in law." That sounded even weirder out loud than in his head.

"I just had lunch with her and took her for a walk. Not a lot of people try to be nice to her or see past the witch. I like her." Jeb explained with a shrug.

"What kind of like?" Cain knew that the time for him to be a guiding force in his son's life was long past. But he couldn't help the worry he felt for his child getting involved with the damaged princess. Especially if that look Glitch had given the younger Cain had any merit.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Just doing my fatherly duty, and all."

"I don't know. I really don't. I like spending time with her, talking to her. But I don't know if it's more, or going to be more, than that. Right now I just think she needs a friend that isn't related to her." They had drawn to a stop in the middle of the hallway, their words hushed to keep any interested listeners from hearing them. Jeb smiled at his father, seeing the worry. "You have your own princess to keep you busy."

Wyatt huffed a laughed at that. Yeah, he did. "You could come for dinner. Maybe get to know her a little bit. She's not a bad cook." There was more hope in his voice than he cared for, but he couldn't help it.

"Uh, yeah. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet." Jeb said with a smile. Wyatt saw the flash of pain followed swiftly by betrayal in his son's eyes. Both were quickly covered up, he saw them just the same.

"I better go find DG. Make sure she's not climbing out a window intent on saving me from snipers." Wyatt grasped his son's shoulder and squeezed gently, saying everything he couldn't. Jeb nodded, offering a smile then turned away, apparently changing his mind about going with his father. Cain watched him walk down the hall and sighed, hoping it wouldn't take too long for Jeb to come around. He could have seen DG and his son being friends…. hell, maybe even more if the circumstances had been different. And why did that little thought cause an uncomfortable tightening in Wyatt's chest?

"I'm getting too old for this."

"Mr. Cain." The Queen's voice had him turning around with a grimace.

"Ma'am, I think you can call me Wyatt." He said with a tight smile. He had a time remembering that this woman was his mother in law. She was so different than DG. Even Azkadelia, whom he'd only just gotten to know anything about. He felt a sense of disloyalty at that. She'd spent several years in a prison, not unlike him. It probably changed her as much as it had scarred him.

"Wyatt," The Queen acquiesced with a rare smile. "I wanted to make sure you were all right."

"I'm fine. Not the first time I've been shot. I'd like it to be the last, but I'm not holding my breath."

"We can hope. DG will be worried. I believe Glitch escorted her and her sister back to your rooms."

"Thank you." The Queen inclined her head in farewell and glided past him, her silent bodyguards drifting after her.

* * *

DG paced. She didn't know what else to do but pace. She was more used to doing something, anything. She was worried about Wyatt and Jeb. Those shots had been scary, if not precisely aimed. The shooters could get lucky and before you know it, DG was a widow.

_That's cheerful._

Her stomach flopped and she knew it had nothing to do with the baby. Glitch and Az were sitting on the couches behind her, not talking. She walked the length of the sitting room, her eyes darting toward the door, her fingers twisting her wedding ring around and round. She wasn't even really conscious of doing it. Worry gnawed at her stomach and she tried hard not to bolt for the door.

Glitch might look like an addle-brained zipper head, but he'd catch her before she even had a hand on the doorknob.

She stopped, her heart in her throat when she heard the door open. When Wyatt walked through the door, she did the only thing she could. She launched at him. Luckily, his reflexes were quick and his hands immediately came up to grip her thighs to steady her. Her legs wrapped around his waist and her hands framed his face as she looked down at him.

"You're all right." She gasped, her voice nearly shaking with her relief. Then she kissed him, full and hard on the mouth. This was nothing like the soft, heat filled kisses they'd shared before. None of the teasing promises of longing not yet realized. This was fierce and hungry, full of fear, desire and relief. When their lips parted and tongues met, it was like a gate opened on a rushing torrent of water. Passion overtook them, staggering in its strength.

"AHEM."

Dazed, DG looked up from the feast of her husband's lips and stared glassy eyed at her sister. Wyatt buried his face against DG's neck, taking deep breaths to settle himself.

"Huh?"

"Do you mind if we leave first?" Az asked, quirking a perfectly shaped brow and trying hard to hide a smirk. Glitch was turning several shades of maroon and trying hard not to look at the couple.

"Nope." DG replied, popping the 'p'. Then she turned back to Wyatt and forgot Az and Glitch.

"DG, calm down." Wyatt evaded her second kiss by dropping her to her feet and resting his forehead against hers.

"Why?"

"Because my arm burns like fire and I need a second."

"Oh shit, you _were_ shot." DG immediately set to pushing his duster away and looking for the wound. The sight of the blood stained sleeve made her blanch.

"It's all right, really. Just a scratch."

"This is so _stupid._" DG tried to pull away from him, to go start to throw and hit things. But his hand cuffed her arms, holding her in place. She let out an irritated huff.

"I'm all right." Cain insisted again, pulling back to look at her. His crystal eyes were swirling with emotion, desire and worry. He was edgy, tense; she could feel it under her fingers gripping his biceps. "Ok?"

"Ok." She nodded, reaching up to brush her fingers lightly over his jaw. "Who was it?"

"A couple of kids, liquored up and feeling like men."

"You're kidding?" DG shook her head and saw clearly that he wasn't. What was it with the male of the species? Get a little booze into them, and suddenly they can scale mountains.

"What will happen to them?" She knew what should happen. Those little punks shouldn't see the light of day for a month.

"They'll spend the night in a holding cell, hopefully scare the shit out of them. Then they'll be sent home for their parents to deal with."

DG rolled her eyes but nodded. Hot tears filled her eyes as she looked at him, her high emotion crashing around her as she let it sink in that he was fine. Concern narrowed his eyes and he reached up to brush a stray tear away. She nearly melted on the spot. She leaned into him, pressing her face into his shirt and taking in his scent, letting it comfort her.

"I was scared." She whispered against his chest. He pulled her back to look at her, a slight smile curving his full mouth. "I thought war had broken out in our back yard."

"Me too." He leaned down and kissed her, a gentle brush of his lips meant to soothe. All it did was re-ignite the fire that had been simmering since DG had attacked him. DG moaned as desire coursed through her. Her fingers fisted in his shirt, holding him too her as she opened her lips.

He growled. Actually _growled_ when her tongue met his again. She found it difficult to breathe when he crushed her against him, his arms like bands of steel around her. She was in no mood to complain. Who needed to breathe when he was kissing her like that?

"DG, DG. Stop. Let's just calm down a minute."

She nearly screamed. Frustration cut a nasty wound through her arousal.

"Why?" She kissed him again, chasing his evading mouth like a dog a bone. He hadn't let her go yet, which was a good sign. But he wasn't letting her deepen the kiss, despite her best efforts.

"You have to be sure." _Because there's no stopping. _She heard his implied words and she grinned. Any reservations she might have had were buried under a landslide of lust and fear. She didn't think she'd hate herself later. Hell, this was her _husband._ Even though he was still grieving his first wife. And oh boy, was that thought better than a cold shower.

"Dammit. You really suck, Wyatt Cain." She pushed away from him, her hormones shifting her from aroused to angry quicker than a NASCAR driver taking a left turn. "How about this? When you're sure that you can sleep with me and not think of Adora, then we'll try this again. Ok?" Then, in pure annoyed wife fashion, DG stalked away and down the hall to their bedroom. The resounding slam echoed through the suite and made Cain flinch.

"Well…that could have gone better." He said aloud to himself. Wyatt stood there for a while, trying to figure out just what went wrong. Her parting words had him more bothered than he had expected. Is that what she thought? That she was a replacement for Adora?

_Why wouldn't she? You all but told her that. Talking about second chances and all that._

Shit.

Before he could allow himself to take a step towards the bedroom, he forced himself to think. Is that what he thought of DG as? Really? Had he agreed to this marriage, thinking that he could somehow relive his life over? Was this more for himself, than her?

All excellent questions, he knew. Now, could he answer any of them?

Cain walked down the short hall and stopped outside their bedroom. He raised a hand to knock but laid it flat on the wood instead. Inside, he could hear her moving around. By the sound of it, she was picking things up off her dresser and putting them back down again. Hard. He wondered how long until she broke something.

Two fights in one day. And he got shot. Could his life get anymore messed up?

He pushed that thought away. After all, he knew it could.

"DG?" He waited. The only response he got was complete silence. "DG, I'm sorry."

He listened for several seconds, then just as he was about to turn away, he heard a soft "Me too."

"Open the door?"

"I don't think so. I'm too embarrassed." She sounded closer, like she was right next to the door. "You must think I'm a flake."

He didn't know what a 'flake' meant other than the snow kind, but he smiled. "No. You're pregnant."

"Like that's an excuse." She sounded miserable, but she wasn't opening the door.

"DG, I feel silly talking through the door."

"Too bad. I'm not opening it. Let me wallow in my humiliation for a little while longer."

"Fine." It came out short and clipped and he thought he heard her sniff in response. Great, now he was making her cry. "I'll be back." He didn't know where he was going or why, but her locking herself up was annoying _him_. It was probably best to get away from this for a little while. He was still strung out from the attack, her kiss and then her outburst afterwards. He probably just needed a few minutes.

And while he was in this mood was a good time to go find the new head of the Royal guard and let him know just what Cain thought of his security measures.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

If Wyatt hadn't been quite so...agitated, he might not have stormed into his father in laws office without knocking. And, upon entering said office and finding the very object of his ire-well, mostly-he might not have hauled the man out of the chair he was sitting in and held him in a vice grip as he growled threats at him. Maybe.

Ahamo had let Cain grouse and growl for a full thirty seconds, putting the fear of the witch into the man better than he could have in that moment. Then, with a practiced ease of a man used to dealing with violent men-he had been in the realm of the unwanted for fifteen annuals-he managed to get Cain to let the other man go with some persuasion.

Now, Wyatt was sitting in the other chair in Ahamo's office, lightly rubbing his chin and glaring at the Head of the Guard. The other man was trying to push the chair further away from Cain while trying not to look like that's what he was doing. Ahamo was sitting behind his desk, looking less than pleased with both men.

"Gentlemen, need I remind you in these dangerous times, that in-fighting such as this won't accomplish anything? Wyatt, I appreciate your anger over what happened this afternoon. My children's safety is the utmost importance to me. And when that safety is compromised, I find myself very put out." His tone was mild, the words much more civilized than the eyes looking out at them. Wyatt didn't squirm. Ahamo didn't expect him too. But the other man, Jackson, looked decidedly nervous indeed. "Now, I expect that the problems with the security in the castle will get solved, today, before anymore boys get drunk and try to take potshots at us all." This was leveled at Jackson, who nodded, his face expressing his annoyance at Ahamo for allowing Wyatt to manhandle him.

He expected there to be rumors of special favors for his son in law as soon as Jackson left the room. "I certainly hope so. Otherwise, you may find yourself replaced." The fact that Ahamo had dealt with situation without once raising his voice or his fist-well, for the most part-impressed Wyatt to no end. Not that he'd let the Prince Consort know that, of course.

"Wyatt, you resigned your commission when you married DG. You felt that you couldn't do a proper job as head of security while settling into your new life with her and I agreed. Please remember that when you feel something isn't done up to your standards."

A terse nod was all the answer Wyatt gave. Ahamo stared at them both for a few more seconds before leaning forward to look at some paperwork on his desk. "Leave us, Jackson. You have a lot of work to do."

Wyatt's eyes narrowed. Why did Ahamo want to speak to him alone? Worry pushed aside the darker emotions he'd been feeling and he waited patiently for the other man to leave.

"If there were one place in the whole OZ that you would take a person to be safe, where would that be?"

"The Emerald Island." Wyatt said without hesitation. The rumored birthplace of Glinda the Good, The Emerald Island was situated along the coast in the southern country. The name itself was strange, since it wasn't an island. It had managed to stay out of the sights of the witch, and a small, solid community still inhabited the area. Ahamo considered this for a few moments, leaving Wyatt to wonder silently at what the hell this was getting at.

"As you know, the OZ is unstable. People have lost faith in the House of Gale and they want to see Az's head on a platter, so to speak. Of course, this can't happen and just short of sending her to the Other Side, I don't see an easy out. With DG being pregnant, that makes her as vulnerable as her sister. She could very well be the next ruler if we manage to avoid another coup, since the people of the OZ will not tolerate Azkadelia."

"If you beg my pardon, sir. DG won't want that." Wyatt said this with a finality that would have made any other man drop the subject.

"Again, as you know, we don't always get what we want."

"And sometimes we do." Wyatt threw back, making it clear without saying it that he wouldn't allow someone, not even her parents, force her to do something she didn't want. If she hadn't agreed to their marriage, even, he wouldn't have gone through with it. And he would have stood by her side to rebuff each and every suitor her parents threw at her. With his gun cleaned and loaded.

"Wyatt, she is a descendent of the Gray Gale, her rightful place, if Az can't take it, is the thrown."

"And if the people of this country have their way, there won't _be_ a royal house anymore. Do you really want her sitting on that thrown when it all comes to a head?"

"No. That's why I want you, as well a small group of men, to take the two princesses to the Emerald Island. You will stay there until the birth of the baby and then…we will see where things stand at that time."

Wyatt's jaw clenched tight with the declaration from his father in law. He didn't abide by anyone telling him what to do with his wife, his family. In fact, the only reason he wouldn't fight Ahamo was because he wanted to remove DG from the center of conflict anyway. And the Emerald Island was as good of a place as any.

"Me and DG, Az, and my son. That's it. I'd say Glitch as well, but he'd bring more notice of us than he'd want."

"You and Jeb? That's not enough of a detail."

"Excuse me, sir." He noticed that Ahamo didn't be him to call him by his first name. "But if we have more, anyone that wants to know will know exactly where we are. Blending in, I think, is the best idea."

"And you get everyone out of harms way, including your son." Wyatt shrugged at this. There was no shame in wanting his son safe, or wanting an opportunity to get to know him.

Ahamo sighed and just barely resisted rubbing his eyes to ease the ache that had settled behind them sometime after he'd found out about the shooting.

"All right. Their mother won't like it, but I'll settle it with her. We will keep in contact once a week by currier. As you know, the phone lines do not extend outside the city and I would like to keep any magic using to the minimum. When do you want to leave?"

Excitement cut through the foul mood Wyatt had been nursing since his last fight with DG. He'd been tossing around the idea of trying to get her out of Central City before the situation deteriorated completely and here his chance was being handed to him.

"As soon as possible. I'd like her settled before she really starts to get uncomfortable." Wyatt rose without waiting to be dismissed. His mind was already jumping ahead, making plans and practicing what he would tell DG. Then, a thought dawned on him. "Sir, me, DG and Jeb won't have a problem blending in with the people. Even with the pictures floating around, they're bad enough that we can pass."

"You're worried about Azkadelia?" Wyatt could see that this was a concern of the other man's as well. "She'll learn."

"I'm more worried about her face." Everybody knew Azkadelia. Everybody.

"You'd be surprised just how different my girl can look with a little effort. Don't worry about that. If all else fails, her birthright will protect her there, if no where else."

Wyatt thought about that, and then nodded. It would have to do.

"Thank you, Wyatt. I leave it to you to protect my daughters and my unborn grandchild."

"I'll take care of my wife, child and sister-in-law." Wyatt shot back, reminding Ahamo that he wasn't the only one with a lot at stake and that he didn't consider his marriage as a lifetime bodyguard position. This was his family too.

"All right." That seemed to put an end to their conversation. Cain touched the brim of his hat then turned smartly on his heel. He had some work to do.

* * *

Dusk was falling when DG finally mustered what was left of her dignity to leave the bedroom. She knew Cain was gone. Knew he'd been gone for hours. She figured sooner or later he'd show back up again and then she didn't know what she was going to do.

A horrible realization had come to her when she was in the bedroom wallowing the shame of being crazy-hormone-girl. His rejection of her had stung. A lot. More than she really thought it should have. His reasons were valid, _maybe_, and they'd only been married a week. Was that really long enough for their relationship to change so drastically that they wouldn't have the awkward _oh my god I can't believe we just did that _morning after? She wasn't sure and she didn't think she could handle one of those. Especially with way her emotions were swinging all over the place.

The realization that she came to made her heart speed up and her stomach do twists that had nothing to do with nausea. As she was telling herself he was right and trying to convince herself that she really didn't want to cut out his heart with his tin star that maybe her feelings were base on more than just hormones.

Maybe, and this was a big, horrible, 'let it _not_ be maybe' maybe. Let it be no, a whole wide world of no. She was starting to have feelings for Wyatt Cain.

_Shit._

DG crossed the suite and moved into the kitchen to put on some tea. She wasn't a huge fan of the OZ's version of the drink, but she did find it soothed her nerves. She would have preferred coffee, but she didn't think that was such a good idea right now.

The movements of making the tea soothed her. She put the water on to boil and pulled out a mug. Then the tea was measured into the tea filter-she didn't know the proper name for it. She didn't like tealeaves floating in her cup. It grossed her out. With that done, DG leaned against the counter to wait and her mind looped back to the subject that had been driving her crazy.

Normally, having feelings for one's husband would be considered a good thing. Natural and essential in fact. But that was only if your husband wasn't still in love with and grieving his dead wife.

_Gotten yourself into a good one, this time Deeg._ It had snuck up on her of course. And she wasn't quite ready to think, much less say the 'L' word. She wasn't that far gone, yet, she was sure. She wondered if there were a way she could stop it, think it gone. She knew better, but wondering about it was fun.

How did she let her life get this nuts? Suddenly, being a semi-college student with nothing more to look forward to than fixing the turbine, _again_ and working in a crappy diner didn't seem like such a bad thing.

The water boiled and DG finished making her tea. She walked back out into the sitting area and yanked a couple of curtains open to watch the rest of the day fade away. She sat on the sofa and pulled her sketchpad into her lap. She didn't do anything with it for a few minutes as she sipped her tea and watched the dual suns leave the sky.

What the hell was she going to do? Things were suddenly getting very complicated. Absently, she laid a hand against her still flat stomach. Everything had gotten so topsy-turvy so quickly.

Idly, her mind thought ahead. In six months when her body was very round, the baby kicking and moving in her stomach to it's own internal beat. She smiled without realizing it. She thought further ahead still, to after the baby was born. She imagined a sweet little boy with dark curls and her eyes. She didn't really think to add any of Josh's characteristics in to the mix.

DG tried to imagine being a mother. Feeding and diapering, hugging nightmares away and kissing boo-boos. It was surreal to think that that was going to be her life soon enough. The enormity settled on her right then, and surprisingly, the weight wasn't uncomfortable.

She imagined Cain, teaching their son throw a ball-_did they play catch in the OZ? -_holding him as he learned to walk on his own, chubby legs. It wasn't hard to imagine the pride and love in Cain's eyes she knew would be there. She saw it whenever he looked at Jeb.

Then, that deep, secret unwelcome part of her imagined him looking at _her_ with that level of love and devotion.

When did she jump over the cliff into pathetic?

She sipped her tea, balancing her cup with one hand then picked up her pencil with the other. With a few strokes she had the outline of a pair of eyes. There was little doubt whose eyes they would wind up being. After all, they were the first thing she'd noticed about him. Clear, silvery blue, just crinkling at the edges with lines. They could burn you with their intensity one minute, then freeze you cold the next. They could make a grown man squirm.

DG sighed again, filling in the area around the eyes. She erased, redid and fussed until they were just perfect. When she was done, it was kind of disconcerting to have just his eyes staring back at her in black and white on the page. The look she drew in them had her sighing once more. She was starting to get to be an expert in that. If she couldn't have him looking at her like she was the only woman in the world in real life, she'd draw it.

She tossed the book away guiltily when the door opened behind her. She turned a little to watch him come in, her heart tripping just a bit with her new found knowledge fresh in her mind.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." He walked around the couch and sat next to her. She shifted nervously, suddenly afraid of even brushing knees with him. Thankfully, he seemed too distracted to notice.

_Get a grip, DG. This is still Cain, don't freak out just because _you've_ lost your mind._

"Then why do you look like you found Glitch streaking thought the castle?" She took a sip of her tea and settled against the cushions. "Again."

Wyatt grinned, a quick slice of teeth across his face that almost seemed like a grimace.

"No. Nothing like that. I saw you're father."

"Oh? And neither of you have bruises?" It seemed a little weird that her father and husband seemed at odds with each other, even when they didn't say a word to each other. She supposed it had something to do with that whole…alpha male thing.

"We don't get along that bad." Wyatt countered, scowling.

"Yet." His scowl darkened and DG found she wanted to laugh. Probably not the best idea right then. "Ok, ok. Sorry. What's up with the father unit?"

Wyatt sat silent for a moment, as if trying to get up the nerve to say something. DG waited, wondering if she should duck for cover. The rate they were going today, any more revelations might have a disastrous effect.

"I'm sorry, DG. For what happened earlier. And for the record, I don't think of Adora when I'm kissing you."

Oh, that was so not what she needed to hear right then. Her already jumbled emotions shifted to make room for even more confusion. Oh joy. Her breath hitched and it took all her will not to throw herself at him like some kind of silly romance heroine. That hadn't worked out for her so well earlier.

"That's good to know. And don't apologize. That was just as much my fault. More. Because I'm crazy, you see." She wanted this subject dropped. Now.

He grinned at that, a much more at ease smile than the one he'd produced earlier. "You're not crazy."

"Yeah, I am." She put her tea aside since it had grown cool and leveled him with a look. "Now, what happened with Ahamo?"

"I went to talk to him about the lack of security this afternoon." DG arched a brow, making her look a lot like Azkadelia. He didn't elaborate. "He's concerned, too. So," This was where it might get dodgy. He didn't know how DG would react to essentially being exiled. "He asked me where I would take someone if I were trying to make sure they were safe. I told him the Emerald Island."

"I take it we're going there?" He shot a glance over at her, wondering idly if he should duck.

"Yes. Azkadelia too."

DG went silent for a few seconds, pondering. "I think I read about the Emerald Island. That's where Glinda was from?"

"Rumored."

"It's a fishing village or something."

"Yes. It's small, remote and there's no palace there. No cushy rooms like this or a fully serviced kitchen."

"Oh hell, when can we go?" That sounded like heaven to her. There would be nobody chasing her around trying to fit her for ball gowns, or telling her that her posture was bad, or looking at her with a mix of pity and fascination.

"You sure?"

"God yes, I'm sure. It'll be almost like being back in Kansas. Ahamo wasn't worried about security? I mean, if we have a full detail of guards hovering around us won't that be kind of obvious?"

"It'll just be us, Azkadelia and Jeb."

"Really? He agreed to that? _You _agreed to that?"

"It was my idea." He told her, with a smirk.

"You've come a long way, Tin Man." DG was impressed. He was going to let two princesses that were from a family that was in questionable standing with the people of the country go gallivanting off across said country to hole up in a small village on the beach.

Cool.

"Don't go getting that gleam in your eye, DG. This is for your _safety._ So you can have the baby in peace and not have to worry about getting shot at."

"Or you." She said almost without thought.

"Yeah. Or me."

"Ok. This sounds interesting. When do we leave?" She couldn't imagine how Az was going to take to a life without luxury. Did it make her a bad sister that she thought that could be funny? Probably.

"As soon as possible."

"What about Glitch's surgery? I kind of wanted to be here for that." DG chewed on her lip.

"DG, I know. But we just can't. The further along you get the less you should be traveling. In case you haven't noticed, the roads around here aren't that great."

"Yeah." She couldn't help feeling disappointed that she wouldn't be there. But she supposed Wyatt was right. "All right. I'm sure he'll understand."

"Of course he will. Then he'll forget about it five minutes later."

"Wyatt!" DG punched him in the shoulder when he started to chuckle. "That's not nice." So why was she snickering a little too?

"No. But it's true." Wyatt was downright laughing now. His shoulders shook as he tried to repress the worst but he couldn't. Apparently, the combined stresses of the day were catching up with him. Both of them. Because damn if DG wasn't pressing her hand against her mouth to keep her own laughter from bubbling out. Within seconds the battle was lost, and they both dissolved into fits of giggles, leaning against each other to steady themselves against the onslaught.

When it was over, DG was somehow tucked against his side, his arm around her shoulder. They didn't say another word, almost as if they were afraid to. So they sat next to each other on the couch, watching the night pass in silence.

* * *

AN-Yay. Screw you writer's block. Or something. Anyway, I hope you all like this much better than you liked the last chappy of _Gentle Not the Heart._ Enjoy. Oh, and forgive any serious flubs, I'm tired and didn't get really picky with myself. Sorry in advance.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

To say that DG was uncomfortable was an understatement.

Maybe it was because she was pregnant, but the truck Cain was currently driving rode worse than DeMilo's. And that had had a bed in it.

"How much longer?" Az huffed, sounding incredibly like a child. DG tried to settle herself more comfortably on the ridiculous bench seat and tried not to breathe too deeply. The back of this ancient vehicle had a strange smell.

"I don't know. You're the one that grew up here, don't you know how long it takes to get places?"

Six hours and counting inside the back of the truck as it bumped and grinded its way across the countryside wasn't doing much to keep DG and Az at their best.

"The witch could just 'poof'," Az snapped her fingers and waved them in the air. "And be someplace. She only rode horses to keep her damn guards with her."

"I'd never thought I'd say I miss the witch." God, she was getting testy. She remembered taking car trips back in Kansas. Those were fun. This was not.

"You and me both." Az huffed and brushed her hair out of her face. Even in the plain cotton dress she looked fabulous. This made DG even crankier. She had been even more irritated than Az that they'd had to put on the dresses that they were wearing. She'd had to give up her beloved pants simply because women in this OZ didn't wear them regularly. And since it was common knowledge that DG did, she'd have been recognized, thoroughly defeating the purpose of this getaway.

She consoled herself with the fact that if her ever blossoming tummy was any indication, there was no way she'd be able to get her jean fastened soon anyway.

For a few more minutes, silence stretched between them as the truck bumped and plodded along the ridiculous roads. DG was starting to get a little impatient with the lack of industrialization in the OZ. Glitch and people like him could figure out a way to harness the suns energy to extend the growing season, but they couldn't figure out how to pave a freaking road?

"Ugh." She shifted again to try to get her numb butt to wake up. Az's eyes flicked to hers then back out the dingy window. To add another level of discomfort to their journey, it was _hot._ DG could feel the sweat making her back itch and stick to the cheap vinyl bench she was sitting on. Her hair felt damp with it and if she'd had a pair of scissors handy, she might have committed Harry carry on the poor, unsuspecting black tresses.

"WYATT!" Her screech, brought out by her crazy hormones she was sure, made Azkadelia jump about a mile out of her seat. The normally unflustered looking princess scowled hotly at her younger sister and crossed her arms over her bosom in what DG was sure was a reprimand. Too bad DG couldn't have cared less.

"What DG?" The little window that separated the cab from the awfulness of their prison slid open like the slit for meals in jail cells.

"Can we _please_ stop? I'm melting back here and Az's perfection is getting on my nerves." She was sure she heard Cain growl. And was that a chuckle she heard from her stepson? DG decided she might have to ground him later.

"Oh, if I was as flustered and miserable as you I wouldn't get on your nerves?"

"Of course not. But maybe if you'd sweat a little. What are your sweat glands blocked or something?"

"That's disgusting."

"So's not sweating." DG shot back, knowing what she said didn't make sense, but she couldn't come up with anything better at the moment.

"Knock it off." Wyatt's voice whipped through the window, the tone telling the princesses he'd had just about enough.

DG resisted saying 'yes dad,' because he was her husband and old enough-if he'd been _really, really _young when he started to get busy-to be her father. And that was just gross.

"Wyatt, I want to stop." DG tried in her best imitation of her mother. It fell sadly short of the gentle, yet commanding tone the Queen could do so effortlessly. To DG, it sounded more like a whine.

"Yes, I do too." Az chimed in.

"Oh, now you jump on my bandwagon."

"What does a bandwagon have to do with getting out of this traveling hovel?" Az asked with a puzzled brow raised. DG sighed and blew her bangs out of her face.

"Never mind."

"Look, we're almost there. Can't you wait?" That didn't sound too much like a question to her, but she decided to take it like one.

"No." The two princesses said precisely at the same time. Wyatt didn't even try to hide his huff of irritation. In fact, to DG, it seemed he'd exaggerated it just a wee bit.

"Fine." A few seconds later the truck lurched to a stop. The sisters looked at each other for about a second before scrambling to get out the door. The younger princess got there first. In her haste, DG's shoe caught in the hem of her dress, sending her forward quicker than she wanted to go. The door opened in time for her to spiral out and land rather ungracefully in her husband's arms.

"Hi honey." The smell of the fresh air, not to mention Cain, who somehow always smelled good, cheered her almost immediately.

Too bad he didn't look even a tiny bit cheerful.

"Thank you, Jeb." Az emerged from the truck looking as poised as ever. She'd accepted Jeb's proffered hand and stepped gracefully down to the ground, delicately taking a deep breath as she moved away from him. Jeb merely nodded then moved away as well. DG wondered if he was nervous of if there was just way too much estrogen floating around in the air for him. After all she was pregnant, that at least tripled the amount.

"DG, we don't have time to keep stopping every time you two get uncomfortable. We'll never get there at this rate." With a gentleness DG was still getting used to, Wyatt set her right on her feet, his hand lingering on her back before he walked over to check the tires. The road they were on was rough and the tires were taking a lot of abuse. And it didn't seem to her that there were too many gas stations along the way. God, she hoped they didn't get a flat.

Irritation came back in full force when she moved to lean against a tree to commune with the nature surrounding them for their few moments of freedom. She tripped on a root that got caught on her dress. Somehow managing not to land on her face, she yanked up fabric and stalked, quite unladylike, to the tree.

When she situated herself, she looked up at Az. The older Princess was standing at the rear of the truck, staring down the road they'd just traveled. She didn't have any expression on her face and her dark eyes looked empty. It was a look DG had seen every now and then and she wondered just what Az was thinking about. She'd never had the nerve to ask her.

"Are you feeling better?" Wyatt came to stand next to her, concern replacing any ire he'd felt before. A few buttons were undone on his shirt and his duster and vest were both absent, telling her that he must have been hot as well. His gun was strapped on, of course. She wondered if he made love with it on.

"Yeah, I'm fine." If she sounded a little squeaky because of the images now playing crazily through her brain of !Naked Cain! then it just couldn't be helped. Cain arched a brow at her in a way that made her wonder if he could hear her thoughts. It wasn't the first time that had happened and she was more than a little unsettled by it.

It had only been a few days since that humiliating encounter in their suites. She'd thrown herself at him with a reckless abandon that must have left little wonder as to how she got pregnant. God, he must think she's some kind of slut, to be so ready to sleep with someone else. After all, it hadn't been that long since Josh. And even though she was married to Wyatt, it wasn't like they were madly in love. No matter what her skittering emotions had been trying to tell her.

She wasn't ready to say the "L" word. No matter what her heart thought.

"Az seems incredibly at ease with this whole situation." Cain observed, leaning next to DG on the tree. She felt his hand touch hers and she curled her fingers around his without thinking about it.

"I know. I figured she'd freak out completely. She just listened, then nodded and went off like she'd been told we were going on an extended holiday in Tahiti. It's a tropical island on the other side. A lot of tourists go there for vacations. Really sweet surfing." She could tell he understood until she mentioned surfing. Oh well. DG really did get tired of explaining herself all the time. Anyway, they were going to the coast. The people there probably surfed all the time.

Jeb stepped in front of Az, jerking her out of her silent reverie. DG smiled at the way the younger Cain spoke softly to her sister, inclining his head to catch her response. They looked so cozy it was easy to forget that he had once been her mortal enemy.

"What's going on there?" she asked Wyatt, hoping maybe his son had revealed something to him.

"I don't know. He says they're just friends." He responded with a shrug. DG frowned. That's all she'd gotten from Az as well. "Glitch got pretty upset when he found out we were leaving."

"Yeah. I guess he was pretty mad we were going to miss his surgery." She narrowed her eyes as she remembered just how upset Glitch had been. He stuttered so much that DG hadn't been sure of half of what he was saying. He tugged at his hair, his jacket, anything. He hadn't calmed much when it was time for them to leave. His mouth was still going with random things falling out of it as he hugged her goodbye. He was so flustered he grabbed Az and damn near crushed her. DG was even surprised to see his dark eyes awash with tears.

What was even stranger was seeing Az visibly shaken at his antics. She looked almost…anguished.

"You about ready to get going? I want to make it by nightfall." Cain asked, carefully unlinking their fingers and stepping away.

DG scowled and nodded reluctantly. She really had no desire to get back into the tin can on wheels, but she didn't have a lot of choice.

"I guess." Wyatt chuckled and leaned over to press a kiss to her temple. She leaned into it, letting her eyes drift closed and savoring the closeness.

"It's ok, sweetheart. It's not much longer." She knew he was lying, but smiled anyway. The roads, or the unpaved dirt they were traveling on, made it impossible to hurry. But, if they wanted to get there, they'd have to be in the truck. So, with a sigh, she pushed away from the tree.

"You know, I used to love road trips." She said before letting Wyatt help her back into the camper. When she was settled with Az back across from her, Cain handed her a canteen. She smiled gratefully and started to unscrew the cap.

"Get comfy ladies. We aren't stopping again unless it's an emergency." He leveled his blue eyes on them, the look in the crystalline orbs letting them know he wasn't kidding.

"Yes dear." DG said with as much sugary sweetness she could muster. Az just rolled her eyes and went back to looking out the window.

* * *

Cain hoisted himself up into the cab, ignoring the creaking of his joints. He wouldn't say it out loud, especially to DG, but he'd needed the break as much as she did. A person might think, that after a damn near decade in a tin suit would make him immune to discomfort. A couple of months in a soft bed had ruined that.

"How far do you think we'll get this time?" Jeb asked, sliding in next to him.

Wyatt grunted a noncommittal response and turned the engine over. It came to life with a rusty growl and the whole thing lurched when he put it into gear. He'd wanted a vehicle that wouldn't call attention to them. Not one so old they might not get to the Emerald Isle at all.

Maybe he'd been a bit too pushy with Ahamo.

"Can I ask you something?" Jeb asked after about a mile of bumping along. They hadn't said much to each other since Cain had told his son he was going with them. He'd been relatively good-natured on the trip, finding amusement in the Princesses antics and helping Cain drive when he got weary. But neither had really felt the need to try to talk. Now it seemed Jeb was ready.

"Sure."

"Why did you want me to come along?" The question was asked calmly enough, but Cain could sense a tension under the words that gave them an edge.

"Because, besides Glitch and Raw, you're the only one in that palace I trust." That was only part of the answer, but it was the only part he was willing to say out loud.

"Trust for what? I'm kinda feeling manipulated here. Or worse. Protected." There it was. The temper that Adora had hidden behind her sweet smile was alive and kicking in her son. The younger man didn't raise his voice; he didn't even change his tone. But Cain could hear it just as sure as if he'd shouted.

"Can't say that the idea of you being out of the way while any possible coup might break out was appealin'." Wyatt answered. "And you could have said no, so don't accuse me of manipulating you."

"Oh really? I heard an order from your father-in-law."

"What really burns you? That he ordered you? Or that he _is_ my father-in-law?" Close confines were not a good environment for a heated discussion. It usually led to further heat that led to bruised egos and feelings.

"I don't know." Jeb answered through clenched teeth. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, the air practically crackling between them.

"Look," Wyatt said after he took a deep breath. He glanced quickly at his son then back at the road. "I know this whole thing has been…sudden." An understatement to be sure. Especially since he wasn't talking just about the trip. "But I need you on this."

He heard Jeb shift, and then shift again. He knew that everything was happening way too fast for his son. Hell, things were moving way too fast for him, and he'd been the one with all the ideas here lately.

"I don't want you to think that I'm dragging you out here to keep you from fighting. When the time comes, if that's what you want, I won't try to stop you." It took a lot to say that. To acknowledge the independence his son had earned while he was imprisoned. Part of him still wanted to protect the boy he remembered, to keep him safe from the monsters under the bed.

"All right." Jeb said quietly, nodding as if that sealed the agreement.

"All right." Wyatt repeated, letting a smile drift across his lips before turning his full attention back onto the road.

A/N-Goodness. A thousand apologies for how long it took me to get this out. I won't bore you with the details. Just life and stuff. Then there was a brief bout with writers block. On EVERYTHING. Sigh. Anyway, I apologize again. Please review if you're not too mad. :D


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

And so it goes…

To say that DG was surprised would be a very, very, very large understatement. In fact, if Az's dropped open mouth and wide, shocked eyes were any indication, Azkadelia was feeling a bit flustered as well. Jeb and Wyatt, ever stoic, merely looked at the twenty foot Glinda replica like it was some sort of interesting bug they'd encountered on the sleeve of there jacket.

Funny that.

DG blinked, looked again, then blinked once more. In an act that was starting to become more habitual, DG rested her hand on her belly and tried to figure out just what the hell Glinda the Glowing Giant was doing sitting in the middle of the road. With a wand. That shot sparks! Blue sparks at that.

Holy shit.

"Uhm, Wyatt?"

He didn't respond, so much as grunt.

"What's that?"

A jerked shoulder told her he didn't have a damn clue.

Great. The guy that suggested they come to this place as a safe haven didn't know why there was a twenty-foot statue of the Great Glinda in the middle of the damn road. Just freaking wonderful.

"So, are we just going to stand here and stare at it all day?" Az asked, remarkably under control again. Even that damned eyebrow was arched in all its bored glory. DG was starting to think she liked her sister better as a quivering mass of remorse. Then she immediately felt guilty for thinking that. Of course she was happy Az was feeling better. But did she have to be so damn _droll_ about it?

"How would you suggest we get past the gate, your highness?" Cain asked with a hint of the old ornery Tinman DG remembered from when she'd first met him.

"Knock on the gate?" Az answered reasonably. Sitting next to the monstrosity decked out in blue-with sparks-was a large gate. A large, round knocker was set conspicuously in the center of the left half.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Wyatt asked with a twitch of his lip. Whether it was a smile or a grimace DG didn't know. She figured the only reason he stepped forward was to end the torture that had been this trip. She and Az had managed to keep their bickering to a minimum, but there was no doubt the tension was thick when the truck finally stopped.

With a resigned sigh, Wyatt picked up the heavy knocker and dropped it back against the wood three times. The noise that action caused should have gotten everyone within five miles attention. Surprisingly, no one answered.

"Try again." Jeb suggested. Wyatt arched a brow, sighed yet again then grabbed the ring. Only to have it ripped from his grip as a secret panel in the door swung open.

"Waddya want?" A man appeared in the window, a long beard caught between his body and the edge of the opening. It, the crazy handlebar mustache and his hair were a dingy gray, his eyes almost the exact same color. His skin was dark like melted chocolate and he had the ruddy look of a person who spent a lot of time outdoors. Which made sense since this was supposed to be a fishing village. Most of his body was hidden from view, so he had a kind of disembodied quality about him that seemed unsettling.

"My companions and I were looking for shelter." Wyatt said, eyeballing the man through narrowed lids. DG almost resisted reminding him that he wasn't a Tinman anymore and he might want to ease off on the 'intimidating' look. Almost.

"Season don't start for 'nother month. Ain't got no shelter till then."

"Season?" Az said, immediately snapping her mouth shut when she realized she spoken out loud. She didn't' need the sharp look from the Cain men as a reminder that she was supposed to stay silent and let them do the talking. She dropped her gaze and tried to turn invisible. DG moved next to her and linked their fingers together. And just like that. All the bitterness that had been spewing about in the back of the truck for the last several hours was gone.

"Yeh. Season. Park don't open till the day of Glinda's birthday."

"How's that when no one's exactly sure when she was born?" Wyatt countered, confusion becoming more prominent on his face.

"So's the times approximate. Don't matter none if it's when we say it is or ain't. People still come."

"To what?" Jeb asked this time. They weren't getting anywhere fast. But at least this man was talking.

"The park." The man countered with a lot of annoyance. He looked at them all like they were a bit 'tetched' in the head. DG always liked that word,'tetched'. She just never thought it would be applied to her.

"Oh." Was all Jeb came up with.

"Look, sir. My wife is pregnant and her sister isn't well. Are you telling me there's no where for us to stay?" DG pressed her stomach out to try to accentuate the tiny bump forming and Az just kept her eyes downcast and sagged lightly against her sister. Jeb reached back and put a gentle hand on her elbow, drawing her away from DG and taking her weight himself.

"Well," The man hedged, looking over at the Gale women. Finally his ruddy face seemed to soften and he scratched his ear. "Pregnant you say? Hold on." And like that, he disappeared. The group stayed silent and waited for the strange man to return. Perhaps that might be a strange reaction. But in truth, none of them knew _what_ to say. Cain was wondering if he'd made a serious misstep in protecting the safety of his wife and child all the while bringing his son and sister in law along for the ride. Even worse, he was worried that the others were thinking the same thing.

So, he remained quiet and hoped like hell he hadn't royally fucked up.

To his great relief a few seconds later, he felt DG's tiny, soft hand slip into his larger, rough one. She gave his fingers a squeeze and he hazarded a look down at her. A flash of a smile on her lips eased some of the guilt that he felt at being careless. Not much. But a little.

A scrape of metal and the creak of wood was all the warning they had that the gate was about to swing open. The man returned and was a lot shorter than any of them had realized. The top of his head barely grazed Az's shoulder. DG wondered if he was a Munchkin and tried to do a delicate search for feathers. She didn't see any, but she wasn't sure if that meant anything. Considering her last experience with that particular tribe, DG had to struggle not to glare at the man.

"Sorry 'bout that." The man said with a wave back to the noisy gate. "Better remember to get that fixed 'for the Season starts. Come on then. Jenna at the Inn says she can clean up a couple a spare rooms. Long as you got money?" This seemed to suddenly dawn on the man and he eyeballed Wyatt and Jeb as if trying to gauge their wealth from their clothes.

"We've got money." Wyatt assured him in a gruff voice. "We'll follow you in." He said, and then made to get into the truck.

"Ah ah ah. That thing ain't coming in here. We gots a carriage for getting' 'round in here. Park it round back. Gimme your luggage first." At Wyatt's hesitation he rolled his eyes. "Come on then. It'll be safe enough back there."

Wyatt narrowed his eyes, but he didn't see any point in arguing. If he did, they might get turned away. And there was really nowhere else to go other than back to the palace.

"Fine." He growled. Jeb came over and helped him yank out the few cases they'd brought with them. "I'll be right back." And true enough, he was. He found the area the man had indicated and parked the truck as close to the large fence surrounding the town. He couldn't see it from inside, and to tell the truth, it wasn't a great loss if it got stolen. But it was their only transportation at the moment and he really didn't want to lose it.

"Right this way then. Ladies pleasin' to watch your step. 'specially you missus." The man told DG ushering her through the doors. Just inside the gate was a simple carriage with a canopy to protect from the weather and the host of trees overhead, with a gorgeous white horse hitched up to it. Here, DG could finally hear the sea, smell it, almost taste it. As a farm girl in Kansas, she'd always wanted to see the ocean. Now it seemed she was going to get her chance.

"Careful, there missy. Name's Tibbs by the by." He held out a hand and assisted Az into the carriage. The older Princess smiled her thanks, her dark eyes drifting the horse.

She stopped dead, her mouth once again gaping open.

"A…er…Zelda, what's the matter?" DG grimaced when she almost slipped and called her sister by her real name. But no one seemed to notice.

"The horse?"

All eyes turned to the horse and only Tibbs didn't seem surprised by what they found. The once pristinely white horse was now…blue.

"Oh tha'." Tibbs guffawed, his dark face crinkled as he grinned. "Ain't ya ever heard of a horse of a diff'rent color? The kids love 'im."

"Uh, ok." DG managed, reaching out to take Az's hand and pulling her into the carriage. Wyatt and Jeb followed, sitting in the bench across from them. DG looked around, trying to studiously ignore the horse, that was now green, and take in her surroundings. They seemed to be in a clearing. Trees surrounded them in varying heights and foliage colors. DG could honestly say she'd never seen a tree with actual gold leaves before. They shimmered in a way that suggested they might have been painted, but she didn't want to find out.

When the horse started to move, purple now, it guided them towards a large structure that reminded DG of a ticket booth. To her surprise, as they drove through another open gate next to the structure, she realized it was a ticket booth. And there were two others just like it.

_Ooooookay._ They passed under a tunnel of trees. That was all she could think to call it, as the canopy overhead was so thick. The further they drove down the tunnel, the better DG could hear the sea. The smell of brine got stronger and DG took a deep breath.

_Wait…was that corndogs?_

Her eyes had drifted closed as she took in the smells. They suddenly snapped open in time for them to break out of the tunnel and straight into the Kansas state Fair.

"Oh, my, god." DG's eyes whipped around as she took in the Ferris wheel, the tilt a whirl and cotton candy stands. She turned her head and could just see the water through the frame of the roller coaster. It wasn't a roller coaster like any she'd seen before of course. She was used to large, metal monstrosities that dropped people from three hundred feet or more. This one looked like the pictures she'd seen of Coney Island in the thirties. She half expected to see a Nathan's Hot Dogs sign. There was a boardwalk lined with shops that were closed now. She was guessing when the season started they'd all be open and selling their regalia for the tourists.

Tourists. That was one word DG never thought she'd use here in the OZ. This was like their own personal version of Disney Land. Why was she so surprised?

"When did this become a resort town?" Jeb asked, his own blue eyes taking in his surroundings with a mixture of interest and horror on his face. Wyatt was a bit more covert about it, but DG could tell he wasn't very happy about this new development either.

Tibbs made a sound that indicated he was thinking about that question. "Near as I can 'member five years ago or so? Aft the take over, seemed people needed somethin' to remind 'em why the OZ was worth fightin' for. Started out as just a museum to the life of Glinda the Good and the time the Gray Gale blew in. Kinda got a little bigger over the years. Got a lot of tourists from other countries. Guess no one told that witch Azkadelia 'bout us, oth'wise we'd a been shut down quicker than you can say twister."

As the man cackled, DG's eyes flicked to her sister. The other princess was sitting ram rod straight, her dark eyes staring out over the park, looking in no way like she'd heard the comment. But DG knew she'd heard and it was yet another strike against her sister's already shifty self-confidence.

"A'right then. Here we go." The horse, brown-finally a normal horse color- turned into a circular drive outside of a…Good God, it looked just like the emerald that DG and Azkadelia had spent the better part of a week fighting over. "S'made to look like the old Emerald City. The one the Wizard used to live in a'fore he disappeared back when the Gray Gale lived."

Well, that explained…nothing. At least to DG. Things had been a little crazy what with the eclipse, her pregnancy, the wedding and possible threat of a coup. She hadn't even had a chance to crack a book on the OZ history. She'd have to grill Az about it later.

"By the way." Tibbs started as the carriage came to a stop. "What news is there of the resistance?"

"You've heard nothing about it?" Wyatt asked, surprised.

"Nah. Durin' the off-season, not too many folks come through here. Too remote. Don't usually get no news about things till the Season."

"It's over. The witch is gone. The House of Gale is back in power."

"Well, glory be. That's some good news." Tibbs face folded into one of such happiness it was hard for DG not to grin back when they got out of the carriage. "Enjoy ya stay." He snapped the reigns and whistled while the horse, now orange, led him away.

"I can't believe none of us knew about this." Wyatt said with an incredulous shake of his head. They stood on the wide steps leading up to the hotel and tried hard not to feel like he'd let everyone down.

"Well, to be fair, you _were_ locked in a tin suit for eight years." DG piped up.

"And DG was in the other side."

"She was possessed by a witch." Jeb reminded them, pointing at Az.

"And I guess you were a bit busy growing up and fighting the Longcoats. But what about your father?" Wyatt demanded, turning his eyes back to DG.

"He's been in the realm of the Unwanted for fifteen years. Mother was in a teeny prison, Raw was in the dungeon in Central City and Glitch lost half his brain." DG ticked off the reasons none of them knew how the quaint little sea town had turned into a tourist trap from hell with quick flicks of her fingers. And that list pretty much covered everybody that knew they were coming. Fantastic.

And really, who was going to care that one, tiny coastal town with no ports or any major hub of trade going through it turned itself into a tourist attraction?

Honestly?

"Well, I guess there's nothing to do but go inside and see what's what. Get a couple of rooms, some food. Then we'll figure it out from there." Wyatt said with smile. DG thought it looked a bit forced.

"Let's go then." DG forced her own smile, slid her hand into her husband's and tugged him up the stairs.

Az watched Jeb watch his father and DG with an indescribable look on his face. When he turned to look at her it was gone. "Shall we, Zelda?"

"Of course David." She arched a delicate brow and took his offered hand as they followed her sister and his father into the hotel.

* * *

A/N- So, here's why this hasn't been updated in………yeah. That long. Sheesh. Really, I wrote myself into a corner. I couldn't decide if I wanted Emerald Isle to be this quaint little fishing town everybody was expecting it to be or more like a…convoluted tourist trap. Which I must say, I was leaning toward, but I wasn't sure how it would go over. Then I fretted and worried and wrote a bunch of other stuff in my attempt at avoidance. Then I finally told myself to get over it, make a decision and write something. So, I did. I hope you enjoyed the direction I took this and don't get too frustrated with me. You know what to do. Review, review, review. :D


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

DG sat in the window of the room she and Wyatt had been sharing for the last month and would be for the very near future. When they'd first arrived he and Jeb had roamed through the hotel, discreetly checking the security and making sure that the receptionists claims that they were the only ones in residence were true.

Jenna-a lovely woman old enough to be all of their mother, with a wide smile and sparkling brown eyes- had given them a suite, two bedrooms with a sitting room between. Each room had its own bathroom to which DG could only say _thank god, running water_. She and Az, having tired of each other during the journey, had gone to their separate rooms. Jeb got stuck hoofing the couch. DG couldn't help but wonder what was going on between her sister and her stepson, but so far neither really acted in a way that indicated anything.

As far as hotels go, the rooms only bordered on 'nice'. The furniture was functional and sturdy, a bed and dresser in each room. There was a rod tucked into a corner for hanging clothes and a wire shelf for holding the extra blankets and pillows. The rooms didn't look a whole lot different than the rooms on the Otherside. DG found that the similarities between the two worlds surprised her more than the differences.

The sitting room had a couch, a coffee table and two brass-base lamps. There was a fireplace and where DG would have expected a TV to be, a large radio took its place. There was even a telephone, which was surprising, until she picked it up and didn't get a dial tone. Or even an operator.

There was nothing frilly or overdone about the space, and she found that to be a comfort after the jarring sight of the Glinda statue. In fact, despite the carnival that sprung up where a fishing village once stood, there wasn't anything really over the top about any of it. Whenever she stared out at the park in the light of day, she felt kind of sad. It was like seeing a movie theater with the lights on, when the dumped sodas and empty popcorn tubs could be seen clearly shoved under the seats of people too lazy to carry them to the trashcans. Something about the space lost its magic with the glare of the light.

As she looked closer, she could see the almost primitiveness of the amusement park. The wood was weather beaten and everything seemed to be covered with a fine sheen of sand. She could imagine that the metal components of the rides had been rusted by the sea spray and reminded herself not to go testing out the roller coaster or Ferris wheel anytime soon. Not like Wyatt would let her even think about it in her condition.

Without much thought DG rubbed a hand over her stomach and leaned her head against the window. There was a small ledge underneath that allowed her to sit on it and look out into the park. Apparently being the only ones there afforded them a great view. Although with how depressing the park looked right then, she had to argue the great part.

She couldn't see the sea-she snickered at that pun-and she felt a stab of disappointment at that. Maybe she should go down and tell Jenna that more people might come if they could see the water as opposed to the replica of Glinda's tiara.

DG sighed and rested her forehead against the window. She had to admit, if the main reason for their little group coming here was to keep her and Az safe, it was a wise choice. She was so _bored._ No word from the outlying cities, no real word from the castle. She knew a currier came every week, but he only spoke to Wyatt, who would give her and Az letters from their mother that said little more than nothing. DG could almost feel her mother's sadness written between the lines in those letters. Wyatt would wait for her to finish, wait for her to ask, because she knew he would tell her if she asked what was going on. But she didn't and he didn't. Fear is silent, after all.

She'd been eager to hear of Glitch's surgery, to find out how it went or if he even survived it. Again, there was no information and her repeated questions of it to her mother went unanswered. It was confusing and upsetting. Even Az asked, the edge of her worry marring the perfect skin of her forehead whenever she asked if mother had said anything in DG's letters. No news wasn't necessarily good news and it was making her edgy.

The only thing to do was watch the park workers get ready for the 'Season' they were always clamoring about. At least Wyatt and Jeb could help with that. The Cain pair had fallen in with the workers and were steadily helping with the repairs. A positive side affect of this was Wyatt had a habit of discarding clothing as he helped hoist beams and what not. He'd lost a bit of weight and his skin was turning a golden brown in the sun. She made damn sure to be outside on those days.

After all, it was the closest thing to sex she'd gotten since this whole adventure started.

DG let out another sigh, this one tinged with just enough bitterness to burn her throat. They'd been married just over a month. And nada. Nothing. He still kissed her. Jesus, she thought she might go mad if he didn't do at least that. But…she didn't know if it was the fact they shared a room with his son, who slept just a few feet away from their bedroom door, or what. But she seriously thought she might die if they don't get something going on soon.

Funny thing, she'd never really been that into sex on the other side. She liked it. It felt good, but she could have lived without it, and did when she didn't have a boyfriend. She knew she was missing something. After all, she used to watch _Sex and the City._ There _had_ to be more to it.

She just wanted to find out _what._

DG felt a flutter in her belly and that jerked her attention down to her stomach. She gave a little laugh and rubbed a hand over her stomach once more telling her little tadpole to settle down. It was a strange sensation, one that came only once in a while and could almost get passed off as a gas bubble. But it felt better than a gas bubble and it tickled, almost. She knew this was just the calm before the storm. When tiny legs grew longer and feet started connecting instead of just the ripple of fluid around the speck that would be her child she might not be smiling so much.

She'd listened to Jenna talk when she went down to the diner to eat with Wyatt, instead of taking meals in their room, about when her mother had her little brother all those years ago. DG knew Jenna's brother ran one of the shops on the boardwalk. How the kicking had kept her up all night towards the end and her mam had wondered if she'd be pregnant forever.

DG couldn't wait.

So far, she was happy to say, the nausea and mood swings seemed to have evened out. She didn't hold up too much hope that the moods would stay sane. She prayed the nausea was over.

"Hey."

The sound of Wyatt's voice brought her head around to see him walking into their room. His shirt was half unbuttoned, his vest slung over his shoulder by a finger. He'd forgone his hat again and his hair was almost platinum from the sun beating down on his head. The blue of his eyes scanned over her, the touch of his gaze familiar.

"Hey. Taking a break?" He'd gone down to help Tibbs take care of the color changing horses-a spell, DG learned, she wasn't sure if she was disappointed or not.

"Stalls are cleaned, shoes checked. Horses fed." He flashed her a smile washed free of worry and strain. He'd acclimated well to their new situation, despite his attention to their safety and the knowledge that they'd have to return to their old lives at some point. Hard work and a simpler way off life was making him happy. DG felt a pang of regret that being married to her was going to rob him of this. It was one of the fears she had before they'd gotten married. She wasn't thrilled that it seemed to be coming to pass.

"That's great."

"Where's Az?" He moved across the room and pressed a kiss to her temple before settling on the ledge next to her. The smell of sweat, salt air and the soap Jenna washed their clothes in swirled around her and made her dizzy. It took her a second to remember his question.

"She's down on the beach." Az had taken to walking along the coast for hours. Sometimes Jeb would join her. Most of the time she was by herself. She was as quiet and introspective as ever, but DG didn't mind. She had a lot to think about. "Jeb?"

"He's helping with repairs to the coaster."

"Still? It might be easier to just demolish the whole damn thing and rebuild it." Wyatt's chuckle and the feel of his warm breath on her cheek made her pulse spike. She realized, as her eyes roamed over his sun-darkened face that they were alone in the suite. For the first time, they were completely, utterly alone.

She knew the second he realized it too, when his eyes darkened and his nostrils flared with a sharp intake of breath.

Since the disaster in their apartments back in the palace, they hadn't had a chance to discuss the status of their relationship. Nothing had been resolved. DG's fears of being an Adora stand in were in no way assuaged and Wyatt's fears that he was betraying both DG and Adora in some way were still as prominent as ever.

But, as they sat here in the room, several weeks of tension coiling between them, none of that seemed to matter.

They moved closer, without any real conscious thought to do so. She felt his hand, warm and calloused, run down her arm. She felt a shiver chase that hand and she leaned closer still, her lips parting on a soft breath. She could feel the heat of his eyes on her mouth; felt her own drift closed with the anticipation of his kiss.

"DG!"

Azkadelia's voice ripped through the room followed by a door closing and the married couple bounced away from each other like guilty teenagers.

Hot anger had DG pushing up from the window seat without another look at Cain.

"WHAT?" She growled, ripping open their bedroom door to glare darkly at her sister.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Hello, Az." Wyatt said with just a shade more patience than DG. He slipped past his wife and went out of the suite, not bothering to look back either.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Az said, and she sounded it too. The look of contrition on her older sisters face took the wind out of DG's sails and the younger princess sagged against the doorframe of her bedroom.

"It's not your fault. We really need our own room."

"So why don't you go ask Jenna? I'm sure she'd give you one."

"That would leave you and Jeb alone in here." DG reminded her with a smile.

"Perhaps," Az started through clenched teeth, "she'd be willing to give us all our own room. It's not like we can't pay her."

That was true enough. They had more than enough credits to pay for a whole floor to themselves for at least a month. Maybe more. But, probably for safety reasons, the Cain men had decided that one suite was enough. Well, DG's hormones and the almost desperate need that was building to be with her husband were about out of patience for that.

Maybe she would just go talk to Jenna and see what could be worked out.

"How was your walk?" DG asked, changing the subject. Az arched a brow but let her.

"It was lovely. I do love the ocean." A faraway look filtered across her face and DG felt a slight pang in her chest. Since her sister had been freed from the sorceress, there hadn't been much peace for her. From the unrest in the country to the prison of her own mind, Azkadelia wasn't a happy woman. Here, wearing simple clothes, with her hair a dark curtain around her shoulders, her face free of make-up, she looked…not quite happy but more relaxed.

"Maybe we can get some suits and go swimming. I've never actually been in the ocean. I could learn to surf." Did they surf over here? Then she reminded herself she was pregnant and surfing was out of the question right then. She glanced over at Az and let out a laugh at the look on her face. "Did I grow another head?"

"Swim? In the ocean?"

"Yeah. They do it all the time on the Otherside."

"I'm sure they do here, as well. But women of our…"

"We aren't women of our stature here, Az." DG cut her off. "And really, who wants to be?"

"DG!" Az sounded scandalized, yet at the same time, strangely amused. "What would mother say?"

DG just snorted. Mother had much more to deal with then whether or not her daughter's wanted to go swimming.

"I think I'm going to go down and talk to Jenna. See if she'll maybe let me help her with something."

"Good luck with that." Az told her, draping her shawl over the back of the sofa. DG could only smile at that. Jenna was so efficient; she made the palace staff look like amateurs. Granted, there was only the four of them in the hotel, but DG had learned that during the slow period, she cleaned the houses of the rich people that had made their homes further up the coast. With that, she ran the diner, did most of the laundry of the townspeople and ran the hotel almost single handedly. She had one girl to help her during the off-season with the hotel and a larger staff during the height of tourist season.

And any time DG asked her if she could help, the woman looked at her like she was a four year old asking to put on make-up for the first time.

It was a little disconcerting.

The Cain men could go out into the village, so to speak, and jump right into being a part of the community with little or no resistance. Granted, in a carnival like environment, two strong backs were a bonus. DG guessed a skinny, pregnant woman wasn't much of a help compared to that.

Either way, Jenna might not let her help, but she would at least let DG sit and talk to her while _she_ worked.

"I'm going to take a nap. I'll see you later."

"Ok."

Az disappeared into her room and left DG to her own thoughts again. Tired of herself, DG went out of the room and walked the silent halls of the hotel. She could just imagine the way this place would change in a little over a week when the season officially started. She almost hated asking Jenna for a room, for taking that revenue from her. But then she remembered that they would be paying for it just like any other tourist and any guilt she felt went away.

She cut across the lobby, which was decorated in a wide variety of greens. A banner was hung behind the front desk welcoming the guests that would be arriving soon for the opening day festivities. There was a vibrant sense of excitement in the air that somehow made DG's edginess even more pronounced. It was like her emotions were feeding off the energy and making her skin prickle.

"Hello, dear. You should be resting." And that made her want to prickle as well. Why was everybody trying to get her to lie down? Everybody except her husband that is.

"I'm fine, Jenna. Pregnant, not dying."

Jenna's snort was good-natured.

"Sit, I'll get you something to eat." Jenna had been standing at the counter, a stack of receipts in front of her and a pencil in one hand.

"I'm fine." DG repeated, sliding into a stool across from the woman. "I have a question for you."

Jenna pushed aside the receipts and focused her dark eyes on the princess. "I might have an answer."

"Is there any way Carl and I can have our own room? We have the money, so don't worry about losing a room." Her tongue slid easily over Wyatt's assumed name. After nearly a month of having to remember it, it came easily now. As did Az's and Jeb's. She still flinched when she heard her own.

Jenna's brow furrowed as she pondered that question.

"Well, Dotty. I don't see why not." She bent behind the counter and retrieved a large ledger that DG had come to recognize as Jenna's version of a day planner. Everything seemed to be in there, including a list of rooms available. "I've already got a lot of bookings but I think I can do some readjusting and get you and Carl into a room. What about Zelda and David?"

Everyone in town knew that Jeb was Wyatt's son and Az was her sister. "That's up to you. If you want them to keep the suite, there are two bedrooms in there. Or you can give them separate rooms. Whatever is more convenient for you." DG sent a silent apology up to Az for basically throwing her under the bus. But dammit, Jeb and Az were adults. They could figure it out.

"Ok. Well, let me do some figuring, and then I'll help get you two moved by tonight. How's that?" Jenna gave her a wide smile and unless DG was mistaken, a gleam was in the woman's eye. DG was sure the other woman knew exactly why she wanted a separate room for them.

"Perfect."

"You know, if you and your kin are planning on staying longer, there are cabins that can be rented. They give monthly rates. A little more expensive than here but reasonable."

It was an idea. She'd talk to Wyatt about it. Later. After she'd had her fill of him. Because come hell or high water, that night, she was going to have her husband. Her feelings for him were a lot less of a jumbled mess. Having a lot of time to herself to sort them out was a bonus. She could almost even say the words to herself. Almost. Knowing she felt them and actually putting words to them were two different things. But she was getting more comfortable with it everyday. Even the fear that Wyatt would never feel that way in return wasn't as unsettling as it should have been. Call it her being the eternal optimist. They were going to be married for a long time. He'd have to feel something for her other than lust sooner or later. Right?

"Thanks Jenna. Do you need any help with anything?" DG asked, even knowing the answer already. This time, Jenna surprised her.

"I've got everything under control. I was wondering though,"

"What?" DG asked, her eyes wide.

"Elphie, you know the young girl that helps me out?" DG nodded and waited. "Well, during the season, she doubles as the fortune teller. Problem is, that fool girl has run off with the son of the stable manager. So, we don't have a fortuneteller anymore. I told Hank," the manager of the whole park, "that I'd see if you or your sister would like to give it a try. Not much to it. Don't have to have any 'second sight' or anything like that. Far as I can tell, Elphie made everything up. But, people will pay to hear what they want." Jenna shook her head with a roll of her eyes towards the fools that were easily parted with their money.

"You know what, I might. Sounds like fun. And just enough inactivity for Carl not to have any reasons why I can't."

"Well, that's splendid. For that, you need a piece of pie. On the house." Jenna held up a hand and busied herself making it. DG just smiled. It sounded like fun. And really? What could go wrong?

* * *

A/n- Hee, the return of Dotty and Carl. Snerk. Anyway, for those of you getting bored with waiting for updates, I won't apologize for the length of time between chapters. I have three kids, one of which is a toddler, a husband and a small career in writing original fiction. I will continue this and _Gentle Not the Heart,_ which will be updated next. So bare with me. It will get done. And for everybody else, review, review, review. :D Thanks.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Wyatt Cain was tired. Physically of course, as he'd spent the better part of the past few weeks helping around the park. What he didn't expect-or to feel quite so fatigued by-was his emotions draining him almost dry. And it wasn't any one thing he was feeling that he could pin down as the culprit. He was worried that their little haven would explode the second the Season began and the tourists started to arrive. Would anyone recognize the princesses? That thought alone was enough to make him want to haul them all back to Central City.

Or to the Otherside, which was looking more and more like a possibility.

He was disappointed in himself that he hadn't known what the Emerald Isle had turned into. He knew, that technically, he couldn't have known. But when it came to the safety of his family, he should have made more of an effort. Much had changed while he was in that damn suit, why did he think the seaside town would be any different?

So far, everyone seemed to be settling into their new, humble lives with ease. Az seemed to need the solitude the shore provided. Jeb seemed to enjoy the camaraderie with the other men his age and Wyatt was happy to say their relationship seemed to be a lot less strained.

DG…

…and there was the main reason his emotions were in such a state.

Wyatt sighed and rubbed a weary hand over his face. He absently thought he needed to shave as the image of his young wife shifted through his mind. Immediately, he felt his body respond. Another sigh exploded from him, this one full of frustration. He wanted her. Not a strange thought for a man to have for his wife. But it was more than that.

As much as his hands itched to touch her soft curves, to learn the gentle slope of her ever ripening body, they also itched just to push a strand of hair away from her cheek. His eyes were almost desperate to drink in the miles of milky skin she had hiding beneath those long skirts and shirts she had to wear here. They were also desperate just to _see her._ Smiling at him when he came into the room, or that look she got on her face that let you know she was listening to every word.

Wyatt was sinking fast and he didn't quite know how to deal with it.

The halls were dark as he moved through them. He was already so used to the trek, he didn't even really look around. He almost dreaded the day when the place would be crawling with people, taking away even the illusion of peace he'd wanted. It was so comfortable right now, even if the living quarters were a little tight. Sleeping next to his wife and not being able to touch her, to see if she'd be receptive to that touch was excruciating.

At this rate, he was going to hyperventilate he was sighing so much.

Pushing as much of his turbulent emotions away as he could, Wyatt unlocked the door of the suite he shared with entirely too many people and pushed it open. He walked inside, pausing just inside as darkness engulfed him. Usually, a lamp burned softly in the main living area, unless Jeb was asleep. Since he'd just left Jeb down at the diner flirting with one of the local girls, he knew that couldn't be the case.

"DG?" He called, moving into the space. It felt empty, like the inhabitants had picked up and left. He flicked on a light in his and DG's room and realized that they had done just that. She, as well as all of their things, was gone.

Confusion knit his brows together and he walked over to Azkadelia's room. He gave a cursory knock before turning the knob. Again, empty. It didn't take long to find that Jeb's things were gone as well.

"Oh, Carl. I'm sorry, did I forget something?" Wyatt jerked at the sound of Jenna's voice and he turned to face the older woman.

"Forget something?" he asked.

"Yes. When I changed your rooms, did I leave something behind? Dotty assured me I didn't." Realization dawned on him and he felt an unexpected tightening in his stomach.

"No, no. Not that I can see. But, eh, Dotty forgot to tell me we were moving."

Jenna chuckled at his admission and set down the clean linens she'd been carrying. "That's easy enough fixed. You're one floor down. Room's not quite as big as this one. But don't suppose it needs to be bigger with just the two of you." She gave him a knowing look that would have had him blushing were he a younger man. It was bad enough that despite himself, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Zelda and my son?"

'They both have their own rooms, now, as well. I offered to let them stay here, but they preferred to be alone."  
Wyatt thought that was a bit strange. He'd thought his son and Az had been getting quite close. Then he realized that she'd said Jeb knew about the move. And didn't warn him. He might have to have a word with his child about all this later. If anyone knew Wyatt didn't like surprised, it was Jeb.

"We shouldn't be taking so many rooms from you. You're going to need them soon."

Jenna waved him off and handed him a key she'd produced from the pockets of her apron.

"Room 210. Your lot is welcome here. You're good people." Then, she picked up her linens and left him to stand alone staring down at the brass key in his hand.

****

DG had been nervous plenty of times in her life. The first day of kindergarten, although, she couldn't really remember that too well. That time she'd had to perform a Christmas poem in front of the whole school in Sixth. There was graduation, which aside from elation also has the sense of terror that you might trip and fall off the stage. Telling her mother, the Queen, that she was pregnant. Her wedding day. Her wedding _night. _And she was sure there were many, many more she was just too agitated to remember.

Because right now, as the suns crested the horizon and darkness kissed the edges of her new room, DG had never been more nervous in her life.

_Deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth._ DG practiced her advice, pressing a hand to her belly as she felt a flutter in response. _You stay out of this, _she told her stomach. She didn't need him twitching about in there and making her nerves worse.

"What's taking him so long?" DG grumbled, trying not to look at the door, again. She scratched the back of her neck, her fingers tangling with the tendrils falling from the sloppy ponytail she'd tied it up in. Thankfully, with much grumbling from her husband, she'd packed a few pairs of the pants she liked to sleep in and tank tops. Among those pants, she'd slid in a pair she'd chopped off into shorts. Cain had seen her wear them once back in Central City, and she'd never quite forgotten how his eyes had lingered on the length of her thigh. That was, before his sense of propriety had kicked in and he'd actually tried to order her to change.

And they were married for Glinda's sake.

But, she had those on right now. She'd even taken the time to hem them properly. Now, instead of a jagged edge with unsightly strings hanging down, there was a neat crease that looked almost like she'd known what she was doing.

And the fact that she was obsessing over that proved just how loopy she was.

Too bad she couldn't blame this roller coaster of emotion on hormones. Well, it was hormones, but not the pregnancy kind because this was _all_ about getting naked with her husband.

With Wyatt.

OHMYGODI'MGOINGTOGETNAKEDWITHWYATTCAIN!

Panic seized her and she almost threw on her robe and ran down to Az's room to hide.

Almost, as Wyatt chose that exact moment to finally show up.

He came through the door, one hand pressed flat on the surface and the other still on the knob. The steel blue of his eyes locked on her, his body pausing in its forward motion as he took her in. The look in those silvery orbs reminded her of a starving wolf. The heat generating between them made her skin feel suddenly too tight and her blood raced through her frantically beating heart.

She felt vulnerable under that gaze, the skimpy tank and shorts no kind of defense against it. Finally, after what must have only been a few heartbeats, he moved into the room. The door closed behind him, the quiet click sounding like a sonic boom to DG. Suddenly, the space seemed very small as with the bulk of him inside. She'd never really realized how big he was. How…_male._

If there ever was an Alpha Male in the world, Wyatt Cain was that male.

"DG." He rasped, his voice a husky mix of desire and uncertainty. Warmth spread through her at the sound; so intense she thought she might combust from it. She didn't answer. She couldn't. She just took a step forward, her legs moving of their own accord. Fear was an amazing rush, thrusting through her system as she walked toward him. What she was so afraid of, she wasn't sure. Maybe she was afraid, that now, with this final step, she'd be completely laid bare for him.

Maybe, and more like probably, she was afraid his obvious desire for her would never be more than that.

With a shaking hand, DG reached up and placed her palm against his stubble-roughened cheek. His eyes drifted closed and he turned his face into her touch. She felt his fingers skim against her stomach; the fluttering that caused nothing to do with their son. She moved easily into his arms when those fingers curled around her waist, tugging gently. When she was flush against him, his eyes opened again, the blue on scorching her with their heat.

She sighed when his lips closed over hers. Relief smoothed into the desire, melting the fear as his mouth moved over hers with warm familiarity. Her fingers traced up to his hairline, the tips tangling with the softness they found there. Her other hand came up to tighten in his shirt, the only thing besides his grip on her waist keeping her standing. Her knees were weak, her pulse throbbing and she just needed to get closer.

Wyatt kissed her slowly, tasting her, teasing her by holding back. She could feel the desire simmering beneath his skin, feel it in the way his mouth moved over hers. He was savoring her, taking his fill before moving on.

DG moaned, a sound that vibrated the back of her throat when she felt the first brush of his tongue against her lips. She opened her mouth eagerly, allowing him access. He dipped into the hot, wet cavern again taking his time exploring the recesses before tangling languidly with her tongue. Her breathing was shallow, her skin practically threatening to tear with the hypersensitivity of her nerves.

She felt his fingers skim under the hem of her top, the calloused digits brushing against the skin and making her shiver. Her fingers twitched, her knees turned to jelly and she pressed even closer to him. She wanted him to touch her, everywhere. To possess every inch of her and finally, truly make her his wife.

The only problem was, she didn't know how to express any of this.

"Wyatt, please," DG gasped against his lips, saying everything and nothing in that desperate, raspy plea.

Rough fingers closed around her sides, the instant of pain almost as thrilling as the ragged groan that burst from Wyatt's mouth. He buried his lips in her neck, his teeth nipping at the soft flesh. Chill's raised over her as that clever mouth moved lower, nipping and licking to the soft swells of her breasts above the tank top.

DG arched against him, her hands curving around his head to cradle him against her flesh. His hot mouth closed around the cotton-covered nub as he sank to his knees before her. His hands slid over her legs, her buttocks, her back as his lips and tongue teased her nipples until she was mewling like a cat.

Her stomach was fluttering, heat coiling tighter and tighter with each pull of his mouth on her breasts. Then, when the cotton was gone and she felt that moist heat on her skin, she bit her lip to keep the shriek inside.

One, large hand splayed out over her stomach as his mouth moved lower. She wanted to protest, to draw him back to continue the amazing things he'd been doing to her breasts. But, the trail of pleasure his kisses left had her letting him have his way. He lingered over her stomach, tenderly running his hands over the rounded flesh, his lips brushing reverently over the area. The touch seemed so…intimate. So strange and wonderful, even with all he was already doing. She felt another flutter in her stomach, and she knew she loved him. Now, she felt no fear.

Insistent fingers dug into his shoulders as she brought him back to his feet. Her eyes locked with his, the pair of blue orbs, one like blue fire, and the other like a stormy, morning sky. She pulled him toward the bed, her patience snapped with her realization. She needed him, now. There would be time for finesse later.

Wyatt seemed to sense her need. His touch became more aggressive, his kisses more searing as they fell together onto the mattress. His hand slid into her shorts, blunt fingers delving into the wetness at the apex of her thighs and making her let out a high keen. She convulsed around his thrusting fingers, the unexpected pleasure pouring over her like the sea outside. Then, while she was still pulsing, he was suddenly between her thighs, his eyes boring into hers.

She reached between them, her fingers finding the fastener of his pants and quickly tugging them open. Her hand snaked inside, her tiny fist closing around the hard thickness of his cock and gently stroking. His hips thrust into her touch, his eyes drifting closed.

"DG, it's been a long time…" he let the sentence drop as his eyes opened once more. She understood. He was ready and he wanted to be inside of her. Now.

In seconds, her shorts were gone and his pants were shoved down his hips. Instinctively, her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. Their mouths fused together as Wyatt settled himself between her thighs. DG moaned when the thick head of his penis bumped her entrance.

Then she knew, when he slid effortlessly inside, filling her more completely than anything she'd ever felt before, she knew. This was what all the fuss was about.

With a gasp, Wyatt broke the kiss, his eyes boring into hers as he trembled with his fight for control. She traced her fingers over his face, wiping the sweat from his brow and easing the tension of his mouth. She struggled herself, to keep from moving, allowing him to make the first move. She thought it a heroic effort on her part.

Several minutes later-several long, throbbing minutes-Wyatt finally started to move. With his forehead resting against hers, and their gazes locked, he thrust his hips. The sensation was overwhelming to DG, the intensity almost too much. She moved in time with him easily, their bodies rocking together like they'd done it forever. Friction, heat, pleasure built with each push of his hips, each rise of hers. Faster and faster, stronger and wilder they went, each chasing the chasm but both determined to go over together.

It was almost a surprise when bliss broke over them. DG felt like she was coming apart, the ecstasy too much for her tiny body to contain. Her fingers convulsed in his back, her nails digging into his skin to find purchase, to keep her grounded. His breath was harsh and ragged in her ear, her name a hoarse cry from his lips. _Her _name, she realized through her haze. Hers.

And that's when she realized she was crying.

"DG?"

DG pried her eyes open to focus on his face. That handsome, weathered face that showed the scars of a thousand years and the hope of just as many. He was staring down at her, concern drawing his brow into a frown. She felt his thumb draw across her cheek, gathering the moistness leaking from her traitorous eyes.

"Did I hurt you?"

"God no." she managed around the lump in her throat. _And I hope you never will,_ she added to herself. She immediately felt bad about that. It wasn't his fault her feelings went over the top. "Can we do it again?" She asked with a breathless laugh, to divert his concern.

A flash of white teeth in a tired, but somehow still lecherous grin was the beginning of her answer. "I'm not as young as I used to be, darlin'. But yeah," a brush of lips across her collarbone made her shiver. "We can do it again." This was said against her ear, raising goose bumps on her skin.

"Awesome." She pulled him down to capture his mouth with hers. No sooner had their lips touched, than a knock sounded on the door.

"I'm going to kill someone." Wyatt growled, gingerly extricating himself from her arms.

"At least they didn't knock five minutes sooner."

"Hold on!" Wyatt yelled when the knock came again. He finished pulling up his pants and adjusting his shirt as DG rolled off the bed and quickly hunted down the dress she'd taken off earlier. Luckily, it was thrown across the back of a chair. She quickly slid it on, grimacing that she'd have to forgo underwear.

DG was still trying to untangle her hair from the remnants of her ponytail when Wyatt opened the door. Irritation melted at the sight of Jeb and DG felt an uncomfortable shot of embarrassment when the eyes so like his father's flitted over her. Whether or not he knew what had just happened between her and his father didn't show, but she had no doubt he did. It made it hard to meet his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Wyatt asked, angling his body to shield her from Jeb's view.

"I think you two should come down to the front desk."

"Why?"

"Just…" Jeb ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Just come down. You'll see." The younger Cain stepped away from the door. DG and Wyatt shared a puzzled look then she looked for her shoes and shoved her bare feet in them. A quick glance in the mirror made her grimace, but there was nothing to do about it now. She grabbed her husband's outstretched hand and followed the two men down the hall.

A few minutes later, the trio emerged into the lobby area. DG almost ran into the back of Wyatt when he came to a sudden stop.

"Son of a Bitch." He hissed, stilling DG's annoyed quip. Hesitantly, she peered around her husband's body and felt her heart slam against her chest. She could feel her eyes bug and she was sure her mouth had dropped open. Jenna was standing behind the front desk, her smile firmly in place as she chatted up the pair in front of her. The older woman glanced over and her smile brightened when she saw DG, Wyatt, and Jeb.

"Oh, Dotty, Carl and David. Please, come say hello to our first guests of the Season. Mr. Andrews and his man servant."

For some reason, seeing Raw standing there, with a bemused, almost embarrassed smile on his face, dressed in a lovely coat of blue and gold, wasn't near as disturbing as the sight of his companion.

Looking for all the world like he owned the place, standing as straight and tall as she'd ever seen him, Glitch leaned against the counter. His hair was actually neat and there was no evidence of the zipper from what she could see. He was wearing a coat that matched Raw's in color, if not in fineness. From what she could fathom, it looked like a dress uniform that generals and such on the Otherside wore, just without the medals.

DG stepped forward, her head tilting in confusion as she took in this stranger that was her friend. Raw shook his head slightly when she met his eyes for a brief moment.

"Oh, it's all right, my dear. We know each other already. I believe we met on a train ride…through the Blue Hills, wasn't it? Why Carl, I think you were on your way to see your sick mother. And dear, Dotty. You're practically glowing." Glitch stepped forward, his voice a loud boom that had DG fighting a grimace.

"M-Mr. Andrews. How nice to see you again." She stammered, allowing Glitch to take her hand to brush a kiss across the back. His eyes showed nothing as she looked into them other than a fair amount of good humor. The zipper was gone, but he wasn't acting the way she thought Ambrose would. He wasn't acting the way Glitch would for that matter.

"Yeah, Andrews." Cain said, pulling DG back a bit to grip the man's hand. Something was off, the small group knew that, but with an audience, they couldn't delve to deep.

"Isn't that lovely," Jenna cooed. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out the massive ring of keys she always carried and motioned to Raw. "I'll show you to your room, then you can all catch up." Raw dutifully picked up the pair of cases on the floor and bowed his head. DG felt sick at seeing her friend look so subservient, especially after all he'd been through before the eclipse.

"Of course. Once I'm settled, we'll be sure to find you. Carl, Dotty." Glitch gave them a large smile, nodded to Jeb then followed Raw and Jenna down the hall, leaving the others to do no more than watch and wonder.

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A/n-Erm…Merry Christmas? Lol. Hope you enjoy, and please, leave me some love. :D Tell Santa I've been good this year so I find Diamonds in my stocking and not coal. Hee. Just kidding. Reviewing will be enough. I hope to have _Gentle Not the Heart_ updated before Christmas. Thanks for everyone that is holding on for updates of this. I really loves ya all. :D Toodles Doodles.


	15. please read

So, I think a bit of an explanation is in order why I have updated nothing in…I don't even know how long. I usually don't apologize for this, because I do have a life and all outside of my writing. However, I don't like to leave people hanging either. Firstly, it is my full intention to finish _A Delicate Situation_ and _Gentle Not the Heart_. In fact, the next chapter for _Gentle_ is started.

But, I'm not sure when it will be finished or posted. You see, over Christmas, my mother went into the hospital. She has had many problems over the last couple of years, starting with lung cancer and ending with cardiac failure caused by respiratory distress. She passed away Feb 17th. Needless to say, I have been very distracted by this and the events afterwards. I thank you all for your patience and I hope to have something for you all very soon.

On a brighter note, for those that may be interested in my original fiction, you can find my newest release at liquid silver books. The title is Two Doors Down , by Lisa Marie. This is an e-pub and also erotica. So no kiddies. I also have other titles there, if you're interested.

Thanks again.

Jypzrose/Lisa


	16. Chapter 14

**A/N-**So, yeah. I'm back. I hope you missed me and I hope this update is worth the wait. I can tell you, I reread this whole story and I guess since I hadn't looked at it in a year, I can actually say it's good. LOL. I was afraid, even after all this time that sending them to the Emerald Isle was a convoluted plot point, but it worked well. So, on with the explanation of just what the heck Glitch is doing there and what's up with the royal family. Enjoy! (Don't worry, Gentle will be updated too) Oh and if someone can come up with a plausible way for Wyatt Cain and Hatter to be in the same story, please do it. Un beta'd as usual. Sorry. ;-P

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Chapter Fourteen

Wyatt barely waited for Jenna to be out of sight before he flipped the ledger around and found Glitch's room number.

"Let's go get a cup of coffee, wait for Jenna to come back. Then we'll find out what the hell is going on."

"Where's Az? She should know." Jeb asked, settling into the booth across from his father and DG.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since this morning. Probably in her room."

Almost as if she were conjured up, Az breezed into the lobby, her hair wind swept around her face and wearing something that looked suspiciously like a pair of Jeb's pants. DG could only blink in surprise as Jeb turned to follow her gaze, standing abruptly to go collect her.

"Zelda." he called softly. Even from the diner, DG could see the blush that spread across Az's face and the guilty look like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't.

"That's…odd." Wyatt said, reaching over to place his large hand over hers. DG wasn't sure if he was talking about her sister's attire, or the way Jeb was gently taking Az's arm and leading her into the diner. She found she didn't care as Cain rubbed soothing circles across the back of her wrist. She knew he could feel her nerves jumping, her almost desperate want to know why Glitch and Raw were there and what was going on at the Palace. She was scared and annoyed, but his touch helped focus her, reminding her of what they'd been doing earlier, before they'd been interrupted. Again.

Was she ever going to have any amount of uninterrupted time with her husband?

As soon as she thought it, she felt guilty. Who knew what was going on back at home, and here she was worrying about not getting to ravish Cain like she'd wanted too.

"Glitch is here." She heard Jeb tell Azkadelia as they made their way back to the table.

"WHAT?!" Az gasped, her eyes widening almost comically. "Why? How? What about mother and father?"

"We don't know yet, Az-er, Zelda." DG quickly corrected herself. The diner wasn't too busy this time of day, or night as it were. But there were a few workers inside, trying to get a final meal before retiring to their homes. These were most likely the single men with no wives to cook for them, or no will to cook for themselves. The Season was fast approaching, which meant later nights of work for the residents of the Emerald Isle. DG was a little curious to see what this place would be like, once the doors were open for visitors.

"Once Jenna gets back from showing them to their rooms, we'll go find out." Coffee that DG didn't remember ordering appeared before her and the others as the new girl Jenna hired to help slid the cups in front of them. AAz immediately picked up the sugar and started to pour it into her cup just as DG grabbed the milk.

Neither Cain man asked for either.

"What's taking so long?" DG huffed, sipping the warm drink and savoring it. Cain's hand had disappeared from her wrist once Jeb sat back down with her sister and she missed the touch. But, instead of reaching for the hand that wasn't wrapped around his cup, she placed her hand on her stomach. A sudden, intense image of Wyatt kissing her there, his hand warm and strong over their son sprang to her mind. It was all she could do not to turn and kiss him right their in front of his son and her sister, and tell him she loved him, damn the consequences.

Thankfully, Jenna chose that moment to show up.

"Here we go." Cain threw a couple of coins on the table to pay for their coffee, and then tapped DG's shoulder to get her to slide out.

"Still up?" Jenna asked with a bright smile.

"We're heading up now." Wyatt told her with a tap to his forehead. He and Jeb took the lead, trying to look as casual as possible, chatting about the repairs going on and the heat of the day. DG settled behind them with Az.

"I've heard of trying to get into a guy's pants before, Zelda dear. But I didn't think it meant literally." Az's eyes snapped to hers, her face flaming.

"Stop it. It's nothing like that."

"I know. Since Jeb isn't in them. You are. Why you are in them is what I'm trying to find out." _Or just how you got _him _out of them. _DG looked at her sister expectantly, trying to ignore the butterflies that were waging war in her poor stomach with each slow, tortuous step they took down the hall. Az looked sheepish and she shrugged a delicate shoulder inside a shirt DG just now realized was her husbands.

"They left them," Az told her, plucking the shirt to indicate it as well. "Or you missed this when you packed up your stuff. And…well…I've always watched you walk around in your, jeans, right?" DG gave her a short nod, already understanding where her sister was going. "I just really envied the freedom you seemed to have in them. I wanted a taste of that."

DG sighed and wrapped an arm around Az's waist. "And what did you think?"

"It's different." Az replied with a smile. DG giggled and nodded.

"Yes. It is." DG said, returning the smile. When she looked back at the men in front of her, she realized that as she and Az had been talking, they'd gone upstairs and were now standing in front of the door. Wyatt's crystal blue eyes met hers, the worry in his gaze making her eyes prick with sudden tears. He looked away and rapped three times on the door.

Raw pulled open the door and didn't look in the least surprised to see them.

"Hey there, furball." Cain said, clasping the Seer's hand tightly.

"Good to see, Cain. Cain's." Raw corrected as Jeb stepped up behind his dad. Another shake of the hand and they went inside. Az gave Raw a tight smile and stepped inside quickly. She had never really figured out how to deal with Seer, after all the witch had put his people through. DG stepped up next, her worry and fear making Raw grimace. "DG looks good. Healthy. Baby doing well." He whispered, giving her a smile that an indulgent papa might give his daughter. She couldn't help but smile back. His eyes turned sharper, the look on his face knowing. He actually smirked at her. DG felt herself blush to her roots and quickly hurried past him.

Once inside, it was apparent that by the time they showed up, Glitch hadn't had the opportunity to unpack so much as his boxer shorts. In fact, his bags still stood in the middle of the room, untouched. Glitch was standing in the sitting room, his back to them as he peered out into the night. DG wondered what his thoughts on the Glinda statue had been. She thought he'd probably asked her to dance.

"Glitch?" He turned then, and DG couldn't stop herself from walking over to him and throwing her arms around his neck. She felt him stiffen, felt the awkward pat on her back and she knew. "I'm sorry, Ambrose." She slid away from him, meeting his dark eyes with her own. She hoped that her misery of losing her friend wasn't obvious.

"I'm Glitch, DG. I'll always be Glitch." Ambrose told her, his stiffness lessening somewhat. He reached up and touched her cheek, smiling sadly. She nodded, fighting the threatening tears and she brushed a kiss across his pale cheek.

"What are you two doing here?" Wyatt demanded. He pulled DG to him when she stepped away from Ambrose, his solid, steady strength a balm. She leaned into him and braced herself for the bad news that was all but written on the former advisors face.

"It's not good." He started, glancing over at Raw who faced the group solemnly. "Sometime ago, we learned of a plan to get inside the Palace and kidnap your parents. To use them to force Azkadelia out of hiding." Ambrose glanced over at Az then, his eyes skittering over her form, his brows lifting in surprise at her attire. Then Jeb angled closer to her, probably due to the look of sick horror that filled her face, and Ambrose yanked his gaze away from her.

"How were they going to get into the palace?" Wyatt asked, his eyes narrowed, trying to sort out the plan in his head.

"Using a system of old tunnels that were dug underneath for access to the dungeons. Secret tunnels, so to speak. Long forgotten in the Century or so since they'd been last used. Left out of the schematics the last time a major renovation had been done on the palace."

"For the love of Glinda," Wyatt spat. He ran a hand over his platinum hair, fire shooting from his ice blue eyes. He could feel DG trembling against him. "What happened?"

"They got in. By the time we'd learned of it, the plan was already in motion. Several former Longcoats and citizens, even some of our own guards."

"Oh God." DG pressed a deathly pale hand against her lips to squelch the sob that wanted to bubble up. People inside the castle had turned against them. She'd known that was a possibility, but hadn't really considered it a threat. How stupid she could be sometimes, even after all she'd been through.

She had to remind herself, she'd only been in the OZ for less than half a year. It was time to wake up and pay attention.

"What happened to them? Where are mother and father?" Az asked, her voice a bare whisper, but her words shooting through the air like bullets. Ambrose looked at her again, the look on his face so tender, so…_broken…_DG felt her heart break.

"Taken. There were so many. We weren't prepared. Stupidly thought our walls were impenetrable."

"When did this happen?" Jeb asked, his eyes narrowed as if something in Ambrose's story didn't jibe. DG felt Wyatt's hand tighten at her waist and she looked up at him. His own gaze was suspicious, hard, staring at the man he'd called friend like he was a stranger.

"Three weeks ago."

"But, how is that possible?"

"Three weeks!"

"How the hell did you let this happen, Glitch?"

The only one that wasn't gasping or cursing in disbelief was DG. She stared not at Ambrose, but Raw, who was staring right back looking incredibly sad.

"We got letters." She said, her quiet words breaking through the din and setting Ambrose's lips into a thin line.

"Of course you did." he told her sadly, his dark eyes watching her carefully.

"That's why mother never answered our questions." Az said her words lifeless.

"She couldn't." DG confirmed. Ambrose shook his head.

"Are they still alive?" Wyatt asked this, the arm around DG's waist holding tight in case the answer was what he expected.

"As far as we know. They've been sending out riders to get the news as far as possible that the Queen and her Consort have been captured. Raw and I managed to stop the messenger heading this way."

The grim way he relayed that had DG not wanting to know just how they did that.

"It probably won't be long before they send another one." Jeb said.

"We need to move. To get you and Azkadelia as far away from here as possible." Wyatt determined, glad to see the nod of agreement from the three other men in the room.

"I can't. I have to go back. It's not them they want. It's me." Az had slumped against the back of a chair, the news making her shoulders sag and her skin go almost translucent.

"Az, don't be crazy. Mother and Father would never want you to sacrifice yourself. That's why they sent us here to begin with." DG reminded her.

"So they just sacrifice themselves? Is that right? It's my fault. All of this, is my fault. If it's a head they want. They can have mine."

"Az, that's not going to solve anything. Do you really think they'll let your parents go, just because you turn yourself over." Jeb came up with this and Ambrose agreed emphatically.

"But their lives…"

"Would willingly be given for the safety of their daughters." Ambrose told her, moving to stand in front of her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes staring into hers. "You can't save them, Az. I hate to say it, but the House of Gale has fallen. And you dying won't save it. Or your parents."

DG wanted to be sick. The rolling, horrible nausea she'd been spared for so short a time roared back to life. But this time, she knew it wasn't because of the baby inside of her. Images of her parents, people she'd just been getting to know all over again were playing in her mind. The way they laughed together. The gentle touches and tender gazes they never cared who saw. The selfless way they'd tried to serve the people of the OZ only to be turned into pawns once more.

Her mothers smile, her fathers laugh. The possibility that she might never get to experience either again had her head spinning.

"Wyatt," she managed, spots dancing before her eyes.

"You ok, sweetheart?" Through the spots, she saw his concern and she barely managed to shake her head.

"No." She breathed, just as the world turned black.

****

DG came awake slowly, each of her senses coming back to awareness one by one. The first thing she realized was she was lying down. The second thing she realized was that there was a significant amount of warmth against her back. Hard warmth, strangely enough. The third thing she felt was the steady coast of a hand over the skin of her arm and the solid sound of someone breathing behind her.

"Cain?"

"Right here, sweetheart."

Just that, that soft endearment said in his low, rough voice had tears springing to her eyes. Her shoulders shook and breath hitched painfully as she tried to stem the tide.

"Let it out, darlin'. It's just you and me here." A dam seemed to burst with those words and a wretched sob tore its way out of DG's throat. Arms of steel wrapped around her as his hand found its way to her hair to stroke, to hold her together as she completely, thoroughly fell apart.

Everything came out of her then. The stress of finding out her life had been a lie, finding a family she hadn't known existed. Realizing she was pregnant then having to get married. Now, knowing that her parents were more than likely going to die. All of it tore through her, around her, out of her like long shards of glass. She buried her face in her pillow at the same time she tried to scoot back and inside of Cain, maybe to hide from this awful pain that was tearing her to shreds.

"I've got you, love. I've got you. I'm here DG." She heard him whisper somewhere over the din of her sobs. Somehow, it just made her cry harder.

If only she could believe those words. Then maybe something in her world wouldn't be so wrong.

The funny thing about harsh emotions, the kind that tear you up from the inside, is they usually pass in thunderstorm bursts. Within minutes, DG was hiccupping, sniffling and trying to wipe her tears away with the sleeve of her dress. Not very ladylike she knew, but she was too well cocooned in Cain's embrace to want to find a tissue.

"Where is everybody?" She sounded like a clogged drain.

"In their rooms, I suspect. I didn't pay much attention once you passed out." Cain slid away from her, the loss of his warmth making her shiver. He was back quickly, however, handing her a handkerchief.

"Thanks." DG wiped her nose, trying to blow it delicately. Finally, she just let out a loud honk that embarrassed her fully and had Cain chuckling at her back.

"Better?"

"Yeah. Loads." She folded the hanky then wiped her eyes. Cain settled back around her, his grip looser this time, but still there, keeping her together. She stared for a long time at the wall, memorizing the hand stitched framed sampler of a water pitcher full of tulip like flowers. She wondered vaguely if Jenna made it. "What do we do now?"

She sounded so tiny, so lost to her own ears. Cain sighed heavily against her back, his fingers tracing lines over her stomach. She felt that strange little bubble in her stomach and she wondered if that was their son reacting to his daddy's touch.

"I don't know." That fact that he admitted it was incredible to DG. Cain, Wyatt Cain, admitting he was lost was something worth writing in the history books. She just settled for filing it in her own mind as she placed her hand over his on her tummy and pressed it flat against her. She felt the possession there, the fierce protectiveness in that hand that would kill to make sure she and their child was safe.

It made DG feel almost ok again. Almost.

"Do we have to leave?" This place seemed like home to her. Much more than the palace and even the farm house in Kansas. This was where she and Cain spent the bulk of their young marriage. This was where she thought she finally got to know the real Cain. The man that liked to work in the sun, who liked to snuggle in the morning before he got out of bed, although he'd die before admitting it. The man that had developed an easy relationship with the son he'd been ripped from all those years ago. The man that had made love to her for their first time like she was the only woman in the world.

Like she was the only woman that had been in his world.

"I don't see any other choice. They'll look for their messenger. When they don't find him, they'll send another. We can't be discovered." His hand splayed wide under hers, the warmth of his hand on her stomach through the thin cotton of her blouse a comfort.

DG just nodded, not trusting her voice with her throat so tight. She rolled a little onto her back, feeling Cain shift to accommodate their new position.

"I'm scared. I don't want my parents to die." She whispered. Cain's brows pulled together in surprise at her admission of fear. She knew, to him, she seemed fearless. Stupid was probably a better word. But this…this whole situation was much more than she thought she could handle.

"I won't let anything happen to you." He whispered back, his tone fierce, his eyes flashing with his determination. She didn't acknowledge his omission of her parents. There was nothing he could say about that.

They stared at each other for a long time, letting the quiet surround them as the night slipped by. Cain's hand slid up her torso, cupping her breast through her shirt. Her breath hitched in her chest, the sound encouraging him to palm the fullness. Her nipple peaked at just that, and she watched as his eyes turned stormy.

"DG," he rasped, saying her name. The sound sent shivers over her skin. Without hesitation, she lifted her hands and quickly undid the buttons. When they were done, Cain slid his hand inside to massage her breast, his blunt fingers gently tweaking the hard tip.

"Wyatt," she breathed in response, arching into his touch, silently begging him for the oblivion of pleasure. When his lips replaced his hand she moaned, low in her throat. Her hands found his neck, cradling her against him as he suckled first one, then the second nipple. She felt his hand skim under her skirts, dragging them up to cup the firmness of her behind. She'd forgotten until that moment that she had no underwear on.

His lips coasted down her skin, his teeth nipping lightly, his tongue laving the tiny pain away. She stretched under him, inviting him to taste as he willed. Pleasure hazed over her, soft and warm like water. All she could feel was him, all she knew was him. When she felt his lips on her thigh, she giggled at the tickle she felt. That giggle was followed by a moan when he pressed those lips to the slick cleft between her legs.

"God yes," she groaned, dropping her head back when his tongue slid between her folds. She heard him chuckle, felt it vibrate in her core and she felt the tremors start. His tongue buried itself deep, tasting her in the most intimate way, before sliding out to circle the tight bundle of nerves at the base of her sex.

She writhed beneath him as her climax built. Each pass of his tongue inside of her, each pull of his lips on her clitoris sent her higher. Her hips thrust against him, her fingers clutched desperately at the covers.

"Oh, oh. Wyatt!" She cried as she came, her body pulsing with such intense pleasure it almost hurt. Cain slid up her body while her body still clenched and he slid inside her with one stroke. His lips claimed hers, stealing her surprised gasp. She tasted herself on his lips and desire blew through her once more.

They moved together, hips grinding together in an effort to get their together. Cain tore away from her kiss, burying his lips in her neck. His movements came harder, less focused. She rose to meet him, her own need clawing towards release.

Cain fell over the edge first, his moan lost in her hair. He reached between them and lightly pinched her clitoris, making her shriek in surprise as the orgasm slammed through her.

They lay, gasping together for several moments, before Cain felt together enough to move. She clung to him, rolling with him until she lay half sprawled across his chest, her hair fanned out across her back and his shoulder.

Nothing else was said between them. They lay entwined; both wide awake as the twin suns rose outside their window.

* * *

You know. I have to thank Maddy Cain for this. Mainly because I reread The Consort and it did a lot to inspire me to pick this up again. Well, that and for some reason, an over abundance of Alice fan fiction. Reviews are appreciated, even needed. As I've been gone from this for a long time. :D (by the way, where's that sequel?)


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